The Dark King
by AddriannaDestiny
Summary: He is a powerful and feared King to all supernatural beings but his chosen Queen does not please everyone. During a bold attack, they are separated and kept apart from each other for 500 years until Klaus is awakened and shows everyone why he is known as The Dark King. With elaborate plots to overthrow him, his biggest power will always be the love of his Ivory Queen. Dark Au/meme
1. Pilot

"They have made it through the bridge and should be by the front gates soon…" Finn closed the heavy double doors with Klaus.  
Sage immediately went to Finn and he took his wife into his arms trying to appease her, the werewolves had finally made a move and a grave one as they decided to attack the castle on a full moon night.

Klaus plunged his sword covered in blood into the wooden table and searched for his pillar as well, she was worried but this was just another battle in a long war that would not break them and she was able to sooth him with only a silent look.  
"Where is Elijah?" Elena asked with tears dancing in her eyes.

"Holding them off with Kol and Henrik…" Finn kissed Sage's forehead sweetly before looking at his brother. "We need to send the women away to safety."  
Klaus nodded agreeing with him and they looked at the door where Henrik rushed inside.

"Take the women to a safe location, we will follow as soon as we can." he told his younger brother.  
Henrik solemnly nodded taking Rebekah and Elena away, they had to make it to the gardens where the horses were and there was no time to waste as he feared the garden would soon be filled with the deadly creatures.

"I will go with them." Finn assured Klaus with a soft squeeze of his shoulder. "I will make sure nothing happens to them." he looked at the one woman who remained motionless behind Klaus.  
Klaus wasn't one of many words or emotions when it came to his siblings so he smiled resting his hand on Finn's arm. "Be careful brother."

The simple gesture was enough to make Finn smile and the older brother left with Sage giving Klaus some privacy to convince the woman who started shaking her head even before he said the words.  
"You need to go with them love."

She fiercely denied it with her head. "I'm not leaving your side."  
Klaus powerfully trapped her face between his hands. "You have to."

Now that they were alone she was able to lower her tough armour for a bit. "This is all my fault… if you hadn't chosen me instead of…"  
He cut her speech short by kissing her; Klaus parted her lips for a kiss that he wanted to offer her as something to hold on until he returned to her side.

She answered his kiss and held his wrists when she felt him pull away from her, she did not want to part from his side at all.  
"There was no choice for me my love, you are my queen. You will always be my queen." he powerfully whispered.

She closed her eyes as he kissed her lips once more. "And it is my duty to stay with the king, is it not?" she bravely looked at him.  
"Go with them and leave me to paint these walls with the blood of those who dared to invade our home."

She resigned kissing his lips again. "Be careful Niklaus and don't take too long to return to your queen, she already misses you."  
He smiled stroking the ivory skin that he as well already missed kissing and touching. "I will be with you again before the sun touches the sky."

They shared another deep kiss before she finally gave in and left.  
Klaus took the sword from the table ready to kill a few more werewolves but there was a violent noise as the heavy double doors closed and he pointed his sword at the woman now before him. "I should have known that you were behind this foolish attack Qetsiyah."

The high priestess smiled crossing her hands over her chest in a defying stance. "I am one to please those who make the biggest sacrifices."  
"I hope you are including the loss of your head among those sacrifices sorceress."

She unfolded her hands and the long flowing gown she was covering herself with parted revealing a dagger that she rested in the palm of her hand. "A life to trap yours."  
Klaus squinted at loss but she was so fast that it took him by surprise.

Qetsiyah swiftly used the blade to cut her throat and her life short.  
As she began to fall, Klaus' chest became tight and he fell to his knees powerless to a strange cold that was taking over him, he dropped the sword and tried to breathe but as Qetsiyah bled to death, he began to desiccate.

Klaus looked at his hand turning grey and gasped knowing he was about to lose consciousness, he tumbled to the side unable to move or breathe.  
A group of men wearing black monk robes with hoods that hid their faces surrounded him, he still tried to reach for the sword but one of the men took it and stabbed him in the heart with it.

Klaus screamed helpless as the last inch of life seemed to leave his body and became aware he was only screaming in his mind for no sound left his mouth clasped shut.  
With a long last breath he turned lifeless and the group of men carried his body away.

* * *

**500 years later**

The girl paced quickly down the hall, she stopped near the corner making sure she wasn't being followed and was extra quiet as she went by the guard, as expected the monk was sleeping and his loud snores covered the small noise she made opening the iron door that gave way to the dark dungeons.

After that all she had to do was run down the stairs and then use the old key to open the door of the cellar, she smiled happy that everything was going so easily but a flawless plan never goes without a few bumps on the road and she startled when a strong hand grabbed her arm just as she prepared to go inside the old cellar.

"What are you doing down here?" the guard was now downstairs with her.  
She pressed the Grimoire against her chest unable to look for a good excuse.

"I asked you a question Bonnie." The man snapped and she expected to be slapped across the face at any second.  
"I…" she licked her lips stalling.

The man raised his hand ready to put some sense into the insolent child but had his neck snapped before Bonnie was able to blink.  
"Thank you…" she mumbled breathless to a couple of monks standing there.

One of them dropped the hood and smiled at her. "I'm sorry we're late but it took us a little longer than expected to make it through the front gate discretely."  
She shook her head turning to the door quickly. "It's ok Henrik… but we need to hurry before the rest of the creeps come out of the library."

Bonnie stepped aside so Henrik could go inside the small cellar; she liked him, even though he only approached her at first as way to get inside the monastery they actually grew friends and she enjoyed the long talks they shared.  
Henrik was a really nice boy for a royal vampire; quite the opposite of the rude man who never spoke or looked at her directly, the few times she had been in his presence Kol had been nothing but a cold jerk and she wasn't comfortable around him at all, tonight was not an exception but she focused on what they were doing here.

This was her chance to get away from the lunatics at the monastery that used her in exchange for a small bed and horrible food that made her sick, tonight she was giving _him _back to his family and buying her freedom in return.  
Bonnie came to the middle of the small division and crouched cleaning the dust over a small triangle, she pushed it down and portion of the floor parted in two revealing a small flight of steps.

Henrik was the first to go down but Kol took a torch from the walls handing it to her, she didn't catch his eyes as he was already making way after Henrik and after setting the torch on fire with her mind she followed them down to a dark unknown place, she had never been here.  
No one had for 500 years.

Bonnie ignored the foul smell and the little crunchy sounds their footsteps made by crushing bugs and God knows what else, she didn't dare to look down and only followed the two men in the front.  
Henrik stopped in front of a dead end but Bonnie knew that the big rock was only a closed entry so she opened her Grimoire and did the spell she needed, almost within seconds it began to move and the two Original vampires did the rest.

When she opened her eyes Bonnie gulped down watching the antique iron coffin resting on a rock, it was covered in dirt and spider webs that Henrik cleared going inside the smaller confined space.  
Bonnie followed the men shedding light towards the coffin, she couldn't help the shiver that went through her spine; she was in the presence of the Dark King.

* * *

"What's taking them so long?" Elijah went to the window again.  
"They mentioned how hard it was to get in and out of the monastery without being seen, so it's natural that it's taking them so long Elijah…"

He faced the sweet voice always so able to sooth him and bring him reason. "I wish I was there with them…"  
Elena smiled nearing him with that candid smile that toyed with his emotions so easily. "I know but remember what Kol said."

Elijah sighed lacing his arms around her. "Someone had to stay here in case they failed and were trapped inside the tomb, someone had to rescue them."  
Elena stroked his back gently. "It will be ok Elijah, they will be here soon." she whispered before she pulled away to kiss him.

A kiss that was bluntly interrupted by Rebekah that stormed inside the room.  
"They are here." she said out of breath and with her emotions at display.

They all hurried to the master living room where Sage was already waiting.  
"Finn went to help them carry the coffin inside." she smiled hugging Rebekah that was barely holding back her tears.

"It's been too long Sage…"  
"I know love but today we reunite all the family." she stroked the blonde girl's hair with a small smile.

Everyone turned to the door as Finn and the others carried the coffin inside, they left it in the middle of the room and Elijah came near the coffin.  
Respectfully they allowed him to be the one to open it and he looked up at a girl who stood by the threshold awkwardly. "Are you the witch that helped us?"

Bonnie nodded and came to him when Elijah motioned her closer.  
"Are you willing to help us awake him as well?" he asked cautious, he was never one to force violence on anyone.

Bonnie took a small knife from inside her Grimoire. "Henrik gave me his word that this would grant me freedom."  
"You were a free woman from the second you agreed to help us get our brother back; Henrik's word is as valuable as mine. I also give you my word that this family is forever in your dept."

She took a very deep breath and nodded at Elijah.  
Slowly he pushed the coffin open closing his eyes in a quiet agony for finally having him back, Elijah cupped Klaus' face like a father and stroked the grey dead skin; then he waited for the witch.

Bonnie began her mantra and as she increased the intensity of the spell all the flowers inside the room died, she took the knife and feeding of dead energy she cut her palm letting the blood fall on Klaus' face, as it reached his mouth it gathered there on his closed lips.  
She closed her hand with a small hiss and the blood was now a little pool around his lips. "It took the blood of a Bennett to make you desiccate, have the blood of a Bennett to wake. Rise… rise from the dead… Dark King." she said and his lips parted taking the blood she was offering.

Kol came back into the room with a human girl that he compelled to behave; he took the knife from Bonnie's hand and slit the wrist of the girl making her kneel next to the coffin.  
As the warm skin came in touch with his mouth there was a small gasp from Klaus and slowly his hand trapped the fragile wrist over his lips, he fed eagerly and only released her wrist to quickly grab her head, he tilted it and roughly sank his fangs into the warm human skin that was deliciously giving him life again.

The girl dropped to the floor dead when he was done and then Klaus screamed inside his prison, confused and fighting to control the set of foggy images that consumed him all of a sudden.  
Elijah helped him sit up, Klaus was like a wild animal searching for a way out of the cage and Kol helped Elijah, together they pulled Klaus out of the coffin.

He stood frantically searching the room, his feral eyes scanned the faces and he agitated looked at Elijah. "Where is she?"  
Elijah wavered in his smile, he was happy to have his brother back but he was also counting on what would happen now. "Do you remember what went down that night Niklaus?"

He nodded looking behind him in hopes to see the face he was missing. "Qetsiyah… she made a spell and the priests came…" he looked at Elijah again, he was still very confused.  
"Yes, The Immaculatus made a deal with Qetsiyah, she offered the eternal services of her bloodline to them and in exchange they would keep you locked away."

"But…" Klaus settled a little in his place and spoke calmer now. "For what purpose?"  
"They have forged an alliance with the werewolves and now rule along with them and the vampires."

"They cannot rule, I'm the king." Klaus chuckled in amusement for the joke. "That sounds preposterous."  
"You haven't been a ruler for quite some time now Niklaus." Elijah slowly said. "No one has."

Klaus finally noticed the strange clothes on Elijah and then on the women, it was in slow motion that the wheels started turning inside of his head. "How long have I been locked inside that box?"  
"For 500 years now brother." Elijah intensified the hold around Klaus' arm and so did Kol, both preparing for the strong wave about to swallow them all.

"Where… is…" Klaus barely spoke loudly enough to be heard. "... she?"  
"She never made it to the horses Niklaus, we waited in the garden for her but she never showed up…" Finn explained across the room, afraid to go near Klaus. "I came back searching for her but found the sorceress dead and you gone as well."

Klaus looked down on the ground with wide eyes and a building agony. "No…" he murmured.  
"We found out where they were keeping you but the witches were either loyal to their family duty or afraid to do anything…" Henrik said looking at Bonnie, he smiled happy that they had been lucky to finally find someone as strong and determined as her.

"No… I need to find my queen." Klaus mumbled like he hadn't heard anything of what they were trying to tell him.  
"Niklaus…" Elijah tried but Klaus fought his way out of the binding hands holding him down.

They were strong but Klaus was stronger and easily pushed Elijah away, Kol was no match to him and ended across the room, Klaus flipped the coffin in rage and everyone flinched as he yelled with a horrible mix of agony and wrath.  
They all wanted to help him but no one knew what to do and he was just like a mad man yelling in despair for a loss that he couldn't bear, she was everything… Klaus could not imagine or endure a world without his ivory goddess.

The brothers took their wives away and Henrik cautiously took Bonnie to another room as well, only Kol and Rebekah remained with Klaus that now resumed throwing anything he could find against the wall.  
"Nik… please calm down." Rebekah quietly asked him.

But Klaus growled in her face with yellow eyes and nothing but rage in his features, Kol motioned ready to stop Klaus from hurting her but she was not afraid of him and her delicate hand was going to touch him when he stopped her.  
"If you touch me, you will lose that hand." he coldly said.

She recoiled and nodded. "We know where she is but we can't go retrieve her body."  
Klaus narrowed his eyes but by no means his temper. "Explain yourself…" he snarled inches away from biting her head off.

"With you gone the werewolves gave us an option, they would leave us alone if we left them alone."  
Klaus was done discussing politics with his baby sister and looked at Kol.

"We wanted you back so we had to focus on that, they left us alone and never bothered us again but they kept her body as leverage." Kol explained stepping in front of Rebekah before Klaus lashed out on her.  
"So you traded her in exchange for comfortability?" he waved a statue in his hand covering the big room they were in.

"Times have changed and royalty doesn't mean much when there is no one left willing to lead a war and everyone is merely trying to stay alive." Elijah returned to the room alone.  
"What were you afraid off?" Klaus asked him with a dark smile. "That they would catch and torture your delicate flower that spends her days indecisive about everything?"

"Yes, I was afraid for Elena, she is not an Immortal like us and we didn't have your blood to heal any fatal werewolf bites."  
"I'm awfully sorry if I was unavailable to rescue your damsel…" Klaus spat out.

"The council has her." Finn returned to the family meeting. "And I as well couldn't risk losing my red-haired angel."  
Klaus furiously smashed the statue he was holding against the wall destroying it into pieces. "Well I'm very happy that you all got to enjoy a blissful life with your wives for 5 centuries while mine is rotting somewhere." he yelled enraged.

Rebekah cleaned a few tears that came out after cringing with his shouts.  
Klaus was breathing uneven and uncontrolled but he faced Elijah gaining some control over his thoughts. "Where is my army? Have they betrayed me as well and left?"

"No one has betrayed you…" Elijah tried but quickly gave up as Klaus turned his back on all of them and left the room.  
Klaus aimlessly walked around the castle, it was strange to see so many new things in his old home but everything was meaningless anyway until her laughter echoed through these halls again, he pushed the double doors entering the last place where he had been with her and his resolution was only enhanced by the memory of their last kiss and words exchanged in here.

"Klaus!"  
A happy familiar voice made him turn around.

"Forgive me for the affection display but I've missed you." The blonde General and his best friend moved lacing an arm around him relieved to see him again.  
Klaus hugged the man back. "It's good to see a face that I know hasn't abandoned me…"

"We are all impatiently waiting for your orders Klaus." Stefan assured him.  
Klaus smiled happy to hear that, he could see the unspoken urge Stefan had to dive into battle and go retrieve their queen at once. "Gather all of them Ripper." Klaus left the room headed for his bedroom where he dropped the shirt he easily shred away from his chest. "Tell me all about this Council that Finn mentioned." he asked Stefan that remained outside in the hall.

"How much time do we have?" Stefan mused in his usual easy way.  
Klaus was already by his side closing up a new dark blue shirt that he found on his bed along with new clothes, he suspected Rebekah's hand behind the sweet gesture. "Be concise but don't leave the important bits out, I want to know the name of every infidel that I'm slaying on my path."

Stefan nodded serious; he didn't even ask where they were going first because he already knew the answer.

* * *

"Next on the agenda is the return of Richard's brother, Mason is returning to us next week." A blonde woman with a poshy voice said and started clapping.  
Richard smiled thanking the rest of the group and bowed to the woman in front of him. "He sends his regards to everyone…" he slowed down stunned with a man briskly coming inside the room. "I'm sorry but this is a private meeting, you can't be in here."

Klaus smiled revealing a set of dimples. "By all means, pretend that I'm not here… it should be easy since it's what you have done for so long."  
Richard looked at yet another man coming in. "What is this?" he stood up from the table most appalled and closing his suit. "I demand to know who you are."

Klaus looked at Stefan with a mocking nod. "He demands…"  
"Sit down." Stefan stopped behind Richard and pushed him down the chair with his hands on his shoulders.

The woman looked behind her to the man slowly headed for the empty chair. "What is going on in here? Do you know who we are?"  
Klaus pulled the empty chair sitting there and resting his boots on top of the table. "The question sweetheart is, do you know who I am?" he raised his eyebrows at the woman with a slight shake of his head.

She straightened her blonde straight hair. "Certainly someone searching for a slow death; take a look around this table and memorize the faces because they will be the last thing you will ever see. We are the Council and we rule everything outside this room."  
"You do not have a king for that?" Klaus asked conveying genuine curiosity.

The woman laughed in the most annoying way possible and the irritating sound went on for a while before she placed her hand over her heart. "We live in a democracy now, the empty chair represents the power of a dead king. Royalty has become obsolete."  
Klaus smiled like a little boy. "My apologies, I have been a bit away…"

"Who the hell are you?" A black man asked next to the woman.  
Klaus saw a daylight ring and smiled at the vampire before answering him. "The obsolete one."

Everyone looked at him perplexed, they were confused and lost but Klaus had no intention of explaining himself.  
"So all the power of the this side of the world is sitting at this table?"

Richard grew worried at once. "We merely represent the werewolves, the vampires, humans and witches… we are a Council that keeps the land at peace and creates balance so that we can all live in the same place together and safely."  
"Who here represents The Immaculatus? The _chirchy_ people…" Klaus mused with a smile.

"That would be me." The annoying blonde woman spoke; she smugly faced Klaus with a power infatuation about her. "I represent the pure ones, the ones that have not been tainted with the supernatural, the superior race if you must label it."  
"So in short you are the one really in charge of this entire farce, are you not?"

"Why would you call it a farce?" she asked not a bit amused now.  
"Because back in my time I would simply drop the fancy words, pull a dagger and stab you in the throat…" he smiled with a little wink and flashed to the woman burying a dagger in her throat.

The awful sound of her dragging for a last breath between the blood leaving her wound was silenced when Klaus snapped her neck.  
Everyone on the table jolted standing up shocked but Richard was the first to react. "Please tell us what do you want."

"Vengeance, retribution for being pushed into an obsolete state."  
"You are Niklaus Mikaelson?" Someone quietly asked.

"I like how I smell fear in the air, it reminds me of my glorious days." he walked around the table looking at all the terrified faces. "But that's King klaus Mikaelson to you." he stopped next to the one that inquired him.

A big man spat on the floor and mumbled a few disgusted words in a foreign language.  
"Am I making you repulsed mate?" Klaus asked a few feet away.

"You were a King that the werewolves supported and your retribution to us was choosing a _vampire_ for a queen…" he spat again. "Instead of the worthy wolf my clan sent you, a girl fit for a queen and able to produce you an heir."  
Klaus peacefully neared the man; he smiled once he was really close to him. "I gracefully declined the offer." his lips parted into a devious smile. "It's not my fault that her head was lost on the way back to whatever village she came from."

"I will never support a King that shares a bed with a filthy cold bloodsucker." The big werewolf said with pride.  
Klaus widened his smile and easily took the man's heart, he tossed it to the middle of the table while it was still beating and then he faced the rest of the doomed ensemble. "This has taken enough of my time as it is, I'm taking back my throne and my place among the werewolves and vampires because I am a hybrid and this kingdom belongs to me, no one has fought harder for it than me." he ended in a hiss.

He went by Stefan that waited for instructions. "Kill whoever plans on having a negative opinion about my lawful return." he stopped for a second and nicely smiled at Stefan. "On a second thought… kill them all."  
Klaus took a sword from another one of his soldiers and left the small carnage behind.

* * *

The man pushed himself through the darkness, he glanced back to the house trying to catch a glimpse of the monster that already slaughtered 20 men and hurt him badly, he couldn't see him so he gathered enough strength to keep going.  
He pressed his wound harder and smiled when he finally saw the chapel but before he reached it Klaus showed up and swiftly cut his head off.

Klaus took the dead man's sword and now waved two swords as he went inside the chapel where the rest of the rats were waiting for him, the first brave soul lost its head as Klaus enclosed it between swords; the next was beautifully pinned to the floor with a sword through his chest.  
A yelling little man courageously ran towards Klaus with a sharp blade but Klaus hurled his sword ending that life easily as well and leaving it poetically bleeding over the holy water.

As he reached the altar someone took him off guard by attacking him from the side, when the small blade cut through his shirt Klaus pursed his eyebrows touching the small bleeding wound; he looked at the man now shaking and attempting to run away, before he made it far Klaus flashed and snapped his neck dropping him on the stairs.  
Klaus went back to the altar where the white coffin was, he knelt in front of it and closed his eyes for a minute apologizing for the years it took him to get here.

He stood and came to the coffin, his hands were suddenly shaking as he had to open it to reveal his eternal bride but Klaus smiled upon the angelic image before his eyes.  
The blonde soft curls framed her face beautifully and although her ivory features were now grey she still was the most beautiful woman of them all and he had no choice but to lovingly stroke her cheek and lean over kissing her cold lips.

Her hands were crossed over her chest and she was clutching the necklace he gave her on their wedding night.  
Klaus smiled propelling the tear dancing in his eye to fall down his cheek; he gently raised her head a little and bit into his wrist resting it against her lips when he was done, the blood slowly began to smear her lips and to drip inside her mouth as the lips parted slightly.

Klaus held his breath waiting for it, very slowly the skin began to lose the grey shade to it and the white milk shade of her natural complexion started appearing.  
There was a bigger motion of her lips and fangs scratched his skin before sinking into it and feeding with will.

When they parted his skin her lips blissfully whispered a name. "Niklaus…" she said with a big smile and opened her beautiful clear blue eyes.  
"I'm here my love, to take you home." he swiftly scooped her into his arms pulling her out of the coffin.

She laced her arms around his neck and sighed against his skin, how she loved his smell. She gripped the back of his neck as he carried her away. "Has the sun reached the sky yet?"  
Klaus came out of the chapel where his army waited for them, they all bowed in respect and happy to see the queen they missed and loved.

He looked up at the first hints of dawn and smiled. "The day is only beginning now sweetheart."  
The woman in the white flowing dress moaned happy and kissed his neck. "So you have kept your promise my king."

"And I promise that no one else will ever dare to harm you again Caroline."

* * *

**Soundtrack:**

How'm I supposed to die - _Civil Twilight_

Things we lost in the fire - _Bastille_

Seven nation army - _The White Stripes_


	2. The Ivory Queen

Caroline strongly braided two small portions of the long blonde hair on each side of her head; she hooked the two parts of the braids in the back of her head making the rest of the wavy hair fall against the remaining golden heaven she was wearing loose.  
There was a small knock on the door and Caroline looked up through the big mirror in front of her. "Yes?"

Shyly Elena showed up with a small smile and waved, she didn't leave the threshold as she addressed the other vampire. "Hi…"  
"Step inside Elena; don't stand there like you are my handmaiden." Caroline applied the red lipstick with a sly smile.

Elena touched her beautiful wavy hair with a shy smile of her own. "Once one…" she couldn't help the small bow she made as Caroline stood up.  
The regal woman wore a fitted lace black dress that was cunningly covering her generous cleavage. "I like the change the modern days have brought with them..." she touched the dress that didn't reach her knees.

"About that Caroline…" Elena nervously touched her brown long hair. "We wanted to rescue you but it was dangerous and…" Elena looked back at Sage that came inside the room with an awkward apologetic smile of her own.  
Caroline stepped into the open toe black stilettos that were as well made of lace and smiled powerfully at the two women. "I understand completely."

"We would have come for you if it wasn't for the truce that we were offered, one doesn't throw away a chance for peace briskly and Finn had to make a decision." Sage said in a sweet voice.  
Caroline released the smallest chuckle that openly challenged the ability of the older brother to make any sort of decision and Elena shared a complicity look with Sage that didn't go unnoticed by the blonde at all.

"Elijah and Finn have represented the family with honor." Elena said infinitely proud of her husband.  
"I have no doubt of that." Caroline nodded at the two women. "Now ladies you must excuse me, my husband is having a party in my behalf and it's not polite for the main guest to be absent of her own party." Caroline left the two girls looking at each and speaking volumes without opening their little cunning mouths.

* * *

Klaus took another glass of champagne thoroughly pleased with the taste of the beverage and smiled at his two older brothers. "That has unquestionably improved with time."  
"Many things have Niklaus." Finn spoke in his usual serious attire.

Klaus smiled having his drink. "I can tell by the severe look, so different from the one that you constantly display, that you are craving to tell me something." he blatantly mocked Finn.  
"This peace that we have earned has brought balance to the kingdom… it would be a shame to throw it all to waste."

"Don't hold back on the idle tongue brother, add the part you are dying to tell me, _now that you came back to make everyone's life a special kind of hell_." Klaus spiked him with a smile full of malice.  
"He's merely stating that going out of your way to almost exterminate an entire species within the first hours of your freedom is already making unnecessary waves." Elijah quietly defended Finn.

With a small step Klaus was in Elijah's face with a defying stare. "I killed everyone on that congregation and I have every intention of going after the ones that were personally responsible for what happened that night."  
"I'm used to your rude ways but I haven't missed the paranoia attacks Niklaus." Elijah remained quiet and had his drink looking away from Klaus that breathed inches away from his face.

"We are simply asking you to use prudence from now on, there is no use to cause a scene." Finn came to the rescue but without surprise that coward spine of his obliged him to lower his voice as soon as Klaus drifted his cold blue eyes to him.  
"I'm still the king and I will cause a scene whenever I feel like." Klaus hissed.

"Even when Caroline is looking?" Elijah asked having another sip of his beverage eyeing the blonde that now came into sight.  
Klaus slowly looked at the staircase where the beautiful woman now arrived. "As always you are assertive Elijah, this is a conversation to end some other time because unlike you who married the maid and that one who turned the town's night jewel into a respectful woman, I am married to a queen and she deserves all my attention for now."

Klaus left them licking wounds and handed his glass to a servant, he waited for Caroline at the bottom of the stairs while the entire ballroom turned to see the queen.  
She took each step with a smoldering look and she wasn't listening to the crowd clapping and cheering for her or seeing the ones that gathered near Klaus eager to catch a glimpse into the legend, she only had eyes for the man wearing a smooth black satin button up shirt.

"All in black my love? I somehow expected red." he teased her as soon as she took his hand.  
"I wanted to make an entrance." she whispered while he left a kiss on her hand.

"Perfection is not enough to describe it."  
She whimpered taking his arm. "Always so biased…"

He chuckled walking with her to the middle of the ballroom where they were expected to perform the opening dance, after all 500 years were hardly enough to change tradition.  
"Only facing a shortage of compliments so forgive me if beautiful is all I can think of at the moment." he said against her cheek as soon as she melted against him.

Caroline stroked the back of his neck and closed her eyes, for a second her hand was heavy against his shoulder because she wasn't sure if this was just a cruel hallucination but he was here, he was really in her arms and she pulled a little away from him.  
Caroline ran her finger outlining his face and then smirked. "You are not forgiven; I expect better compliments before this night ends."

Klaus' smile was magnificent and he took her hand to give her a little spin before they started a royal dance that began with a bow between them. Then they sided each other without touching, when they stood in front of each other they flirted with one another openly, the looks they were sharing and the smiles made a few young girls blush. Then when they were supposed to be dancing back to back but he cheated shamelessly turning and melting his body against her back outlining the amazing curves her dress so openly teased him with.

Soon they were surrounded by others that danced around them and they were _supposed _to dance with them but when a girl came to partner Klaus, Caroline hissed in her face showing her fangs and scaring the girl away from the room.  
Klaus gave her a judging look but she resumed to a wonderful giggle that melted him into a chuckle, the truth was that no man dared to even come close to Caroline while the dance continued because they were aware that he would remove their hearts and then carry on dancing with her; so fair was fair, Caroline would always have her way anyway.

* * *

"He is going to ruin everything we worked so hard to achieve." Finn hastily walked around the empty room nervous.  
Sage soothed him by taking his arms and turning him to her once he stopped pacing with a jittery. "We have an advantage that he doesn't have, he has been away for all this time and we have been careful and meticulous in all of our plans. This is our time Finn, this is _your_ time my lord…" she powerfully cradled his face.

"My turn to be King." his eyes sparkled in excitement.  
"It is your right as the older brother and you shall take that throne away from him." she said with a smile. "And I will have them all kneeling to me as their Red Queen."

* * *

Klaus laughed softly and mockingly when he saw the two men standing there with a disturbed face. "I need to start sorting out the ones that come to these parties."  
"We are not here for the party, we are here to ask for an audience. We have matters to discuss now that the King is back."

"So you came to a party that I am hosting for my wife to ask for a meeting?"  
They gulped down with his instant change into a serious voice.

"You have… _dismissed_ the Council. We need to know what happens now." One bravely spoke.  
Klaus rested his hand on the man's shoulder, he could feel him quake in terror under his touch. "We will have another Council, of course. Every good democracy needs a ruthless ruler." he laughed almost in a sinister way before calming down. "My apologies, I couldn't help myself."

"We represent the humans." The other man said almost swallowing half the words in fear.  
"I gathered that for the bold move." Klaus crossed his hands behind his back. "I'd like to have a name to go with the brave faces."

"I'm Matt Donovan and that's Alaric Saltzman." he pointed to the shaking man next to him.  
Klaus nodded at one of the servants to come closer and picked two glasses of champagne that he handed the two men. "Tonight we celebrate my wife, tomorrow we talk about who deserves to live."

The two men quietly had their drinks while Klaus smiled watching them attentively.

* * *

The guard moved away from the door at once. "My Queen." he bowed taken by the visit.  
"Jesse." she smiled sweetly at him. "I'm here to see the prisoner."

"But…"  
She cut him off by raising her hand. "I wish to see him Jesse, are you denying me this?"

"I would never deny any of your requests but Stefan left instructions."  
She sighed hearing the soldier approach. "Are you seriously going to stop me?" she grimly faced him.

Stefan chuckled kissing her cheek with affection. "You are like a sister to me and I must take care of you."  
"I already have one man who takes care of me."

Stefan gave her a judging look for the spicy words and looked at Jesse. "Open the door."  
Caroline beamed happy that her oldest friend always indulged her in everything but he made her smile fade by stepping inside the cellar with her, she wanted to do this alone.

Stefan kicked the man in chains and he moaned lifting his head, his face was covered in blood and bruises.  
"Hello Christian." Caroline greeted him.

The man spat on the ground and Caroline looked at her shoe almost smeared with the dark blood.  
"Always a charmer."

"Filthy vampire… I should have staked you when I had the chance."  
"But you didn't, you said that you would have ravished me if I wasn't a vampire and rotting grey, that it would be a good souvenir for my husband that was buried in a dark lonely place where his only company were his screams." she gritted her teeth.

Christian laughed taunting her. "Did you enjoy your time waiting for the vervain to leave your system? I had fun injecting you every day for the last 10 years. I was happy when your previous handler died and I was given the task of keeping the Ivory Queen paralyzed in her quiet agony, with no blood and only vervain in her veins… I'm also happy that you could hear every word we said."

Caroline quietly smiled. "It was nice to have time to think of a fair revenge and listening to your eloquent words only provided me with the fairest punishment for you."  
"Oh, I've heard of how compassionate and benevolent you were." he said sounding convinced that she would simply kill him which was good because Klaus would take his time with him instead.

"Christian… I am your Queen." she whispered taking the sword Jesse handed her. "It's only a question of time until you kneel before me willingly."  
The prisoner frowned confused. "I'm human, a man of God, I worship no one but Him."

Caroline slit her wrist while Stefan took her dripping blood with a glass. "I have no interest in knowing who you pray to, that is between you and your God but I don't know if _He_ will listen now that you will be sired to someone else."  
"No…" he gasped and fought Jesse that held him down. "You can't do this, I beg you. There has to be some mercy left in you not to do this to me."

Caroline moved the sword skilfully resting it against Christian's neck. "Unless you decide to end your life, you will spend every day for the rest of your unfortunate eternity remembering who gave you life again and you will see my face every time you are forced to do what your new nature requires; drink human blood."  
Christian screamed trying to find a way out of the strong hold but Stefan kindly punched him in the stomach making him cough, then it was easy to push the blood down his throat and make Christian swallow it.

Caroline handed the blade back to Jesse walking away as Stefan pierced the sword through the heart of one of The Immaculatus.  
She found a beautiful girl sitting at the top of the stairs and it intrigued her.

The girl looked up and with a jolt stood; then she awkwardly bowed, standing like that for a while.  
Caroline held back laughter. "What are you doing?" she softly inquired.

The girl lifted her eyes to Caroline. "Isn't that what people do before a queen?"  
Caroline took the girl's arms and made her stand straight but she was dizzy and staggered, Caroline had to hold her before she fell down the staircase to the dungeons. "Who are you?" Caroline asked with a curious smile.

"Bonnie Bennett."  
"And why are you sitting here in the dark alone when there is a big party out there?"

"I'm not used to that many people…" Bonnie said looking at the ground. "Besides I used to live in the dungeons so I prefer the darkness…"  
Caroline's heart fell in sadness. "Are you the girl who helped rescue my husband?"

"Yep… I woke him up so he could go kill 100 people or so to rescue you." Bonnie pursed her lips.  
Caroline's smile was one of pride now. "I would have killed 1000 if they stood in my path to rescue him instead."

Bonnie smiled which was an odd thing for her to do. "That's sort of romantic."  
"Come, I will not have our heroine to stand in the shadows when she should be enjoying the party." Caroline laced her arm around Bonnie.

"I'm really not sure…"  
Caroline shook her head. "I am."

Bonnie took a very deep inhale and started chewing on her lip nervously.  
"Hey, I was looking for you." Henrik met the girls half way to the ballroom.

Caroline padded Bonnie's shoulders. "Henrik will keep you company now and feed you something because you look famine to me."  
Henrik beamed at Bonnie that watched Caroline in a sort of awe.

"She's…"  
"I know."

"Yeah…" Bonnie said still looking at Caroline that now took her husband's arm.

"Beautiful party." The old aristocrat had her champagne quickly ending it and waved at the waiter that ignored her.  
She was not amused and excused herself from Klaus and Caroline bumping into a few people while chasing after the waiter.

"She's so drunk that the help is refusing to give her alcohol." Caroline whispered with a delightful giggle.  
"We should charge for the booze." Klaus lifted an eyebrow.

Caroline laughed melting against his shoulder. "Some things never change... the most beautiful girls are fighting in the corner for attention, the old spinster Abby is still drinking herself to oblivion and half of these families are still giving us the cocked eyebrow."  
"And I still can't remember any of their names, I've spent the entire night calling every fella Martin and every girl Mary."

Caroline gave him a side look. "And how many girls have you been brushing your charm upon?"  
"Every Mary in the land." he smugly teased her. "And where have you been, may I ask you milady?"

"Siring infidels..." she smiled almost innocently.  
He lowered his head keeping his eyes on her. "Caroline… we are in the middle of a party, do not make me throw you over my shoulder and flash to our chambers…" he said visibly aroused.

"It has only been 500 years since your lips were on my skin and my hands were stroking your chest..." she whispered in a dangerous smolder.  
She smiled when his chest began to rise and fall in faltering breath and she left his side moving her hips knowingly.

Before Caroline reached the hall upstairs he was already hurrying up the stairs and then with a blur she was pushed against the wall while his lips scorched her neck and then crushed her lips powerfully.  
Caroline breathed harshly against his lips and matched his tongue but broke the kiss when his hand warmed her leg and found its way inside her dress very pleased with the new lengths these new clothes had.

Klaus hauled her to him and kissed her all the way to their room, once inside the kisses became less hasty and full of tenderness.  
Caroline's blue eyes sparkled with happiness that she was like this with him again. "I was scared all day that you might not want me again Niklaus."

"What an absurd thought my sweet Caroline."  
She smiled as he cradled her face with nothing but love. "I know that it was irrational but we haven't been truly together for that long before that horrible night forced us to stay apart…"

"Nothing has changed." he fiercely stated.  
Caroline left his strong touch decided to test him. "So there is still desire left in you master Mikaelson for your queen?" she daunted him taking her dress off and standing in front of him in a steamy see-through underwear.

Klaus' answer came after he took his shirt off, he knelt in front of her and kissed the ivory skin on her stomach. "There is only one creature on this Earth for whom I will kneel and she haunts every second I am awake." his hands caressed her legs until they reached her back. "She holds my heart and my soul and my craving for blood is nothing compared to the desire I have for my queen."  
Caroline closed her eyes dropping her head a little back while he kissed her through the thin fabric already showing how much she craved for him as well.

His hands moved to her stomach, his lips went there as well and the tip of his tongue began to taste the ivory skin before him.  
Klaus stood up kissing his way up her torso until he parted her skin to place a soft kiss on her lips. "But does my goddess still feel anything for me in return?" he smiled brushing her breast with his hand.

The sweetest sound left her red lips and Caroline left a red mark on his back as her nails covered his shoulders. "There is only one name in my lips that urges to come out between shattering waves of pleasure and that name is yours my King…" she tilted her head and kissed his neck. "It will always be you Niklaus." she said against his warm skin.  
Klaus growled before taking hold of her face and powerfully thrusting his tongue inside her mouth, he kissed her hungry for her and with a need that Caroline cunningly paused by breaking the kiss.

He was not that happy and she smiled stroking his beautiful face, he knew by now that she always made him work hard for what he took with no resistance once she was satisfied with the chase.  
Caroline pulled away from him and removed her underwear under the piercing stare of Klaus, she stood before him powerful and naked in all of her majestic beauty and his very heart that once had a beating quality to him ached before such a sight.

He took the rest of his clothes and followed Caroline to the her chosen cradle tonight, it made him smile that she wanted to be with him in the place where he first made her bleed, next to the fireplace and over a set of soft wolf skins.  
Her smile lit up a face that was now glowing from the fire next to them; before he chose her to be his wife Caroline had given herself to him right where she was lying now waiting for him and she hadn't regretted a single minute after her choice.

He kissed her softly on the lips and stroked her cheek but he didn't linger there, he moved his lips down her collarbone and instantly all that fire burning next to her was no match to the one stoking inside of her.  
Klaus kissed down her cleavage and then pulled the first dragged moan as he enclosed a nipple between his lips; she closed her eyes and reached up to grab the skins under them, there was a hiss when his tongue began to play with the nipple sweetly at his display.

His big hand gave attention to the other neglected breast, he smirked with the first sounds leaving Caroline but nothing matched the one she shuddered out when he playfully bit her nipple.  
Caroline's breath picked up but she knew he was merely teasing her and this was nothing but a slow prelude so with effort she still kept it together.

His lips and tongue left her breasts and after licking his lips Klaus left small humid kisses down her body, he toyed with her navel briefly but then he enforced a small pause that caused her to open her eyes and search for him, Klaus looked up at her hovering between her legs.  
If there was a beating heart it would be faltering in anticipation and he evilly prolonged the moment before he lowered his head and kissed everything at his mercy.

The waves of pleasure that now left her were only increased when a skilful tongue tasted her core, Caroline's small whimpers increased to little snivels of delight when Klaus added a finger to the slow torture, his lips left her and he moved to rest on top of her.  
Her fingers clutched the skins and she arched her back a little bringing herself closer to the hand still between them, he rested his weight on his forearm and watched every single line of pleasure that crossed her face when he plunged a finger inside of her.

She had her eyes closed and her head was tilted to the side, her amazing long hair was scattered over the white wolf skins, her red lips marvellously parted so they could release these small idyllic sounds.  
Klaus kissed her cheek before burying two fingers inside of her.

"Niklaus…" she gasped with a small quaver.  
One of her hands looked for his shoulder that she scratched deeply because he was being so evil to her, he knew how close she was and he pulled himself a little away from her to toy with her nipple that he squeezed.

Slowly she gave in under him and enclosed his fingers inside of her with a wave that took its time to steady, her nails scraped the back of his neck and she moaned his name happy.  
Klaus searched her lips for a deep kiss that was slow and heavy on all that love between them. "I love you." he said against her lips before taking them again.

Caroline wrapped herself around him kissing him back and knotted her fingers with his hair, she was far from being satisfied and she knew the same was with him. "I love you Niklaus." she whispered lowering her hand down his long back to rest on the small of it but not lingering there for long.  
His eyes changed into this fiery yellow and hers were of a scorching blue as her fangs came out, Caroline gripped his neck with a firm hand and then her pointy fangs immersed inside his flesh feeding but also nesting a new raw hunger between them.

She sank her fingers into his arm and he felt the nails pierce through the skin making him bleed but it all simply added to the urge to have her completely.  
She stopped feeding as soon as he entered her with a deep thrust, she pressed his lower back urging him to do that again and he slowly left her core only to return with a deeper thrust that made her pull his hair.

Her body embraced him wanting nothing but to feel all of him inside of her and to surrender to everything that he pulled from her as he started moving steadily, going deeper with every push.  
He rested his forehead against hers, his breath was unsteady and he groaned with the way her body reacted to him, how he got lost in everything that Caroline was...

His name parted her lips louder and more often as he picked up the rhythm and gradually built her up to a second high that would leave them both weak.  
He left the sanctity of her warm chest, hauling a bit away from her for a better angle he strongly pushed into Caroline watching her and falling deeper for the only woman he ever loved.

His hard and steady thrusts were bringing her closer to an end that she didn't want yet; he was the man she loved and everything in her responded to that. She wanted to keep feeling him close, to make love to him for as long as they could.  
"My love…" she whispered when he searched for another kiss.

Klaus rested his head in the crook of her neck while pushing slower, prolonging what he didn't want to end either.  
Caroline held him in her arms with a smile; what a forbidden passionate dance they always fell into, their love was not easily accepted by others but that was the irrefutable truth between them, they loved each other and they would fight unnumbered armies so they could be together.

Caroline's body burned in a fire she couldn't stop now and she moved her leg up, her knee nested against his lower back and her hand moved down wanting him to end it for both.  
Klaus' sturdy pace returned stronger than before and her cries for his name began to leave her lips between heavy pants, he narrowed his forehead fighting the inevitable just for that tiny little bit more.

Caroline trailed his face, the wrinkled eyes of the hybrid that stole her heart but she knew what belonged to her as well so she rested her hand over what was her property.  
Klaus clasped her hand over his heart and while sharing that silent promise between them she reached that high that left her trembling under him.

He closed his eyes moving only a couple more times as her body quavered around him welcoming his high with a final whimper of bliss and pleasure, he was shivering when he rested his sweaty body against hers.

* * *

While Klaus stroked her soft skin she melted against him caressing his chest, her body seemed so fragile now under his big hand that warmed her naked shoulder; he made her smile when he pulled her even closer to him.  
"It's funny…" she said against his chest. "It's like every time we make love I blend into your skin even more…"

He liked that, it brought a big smile to his lips. "I am certain that I cannot exist without you."  
"If only others were so easily convinced of that as I am." she faced him with a small unwanted shadow.

Klaus kissed her and softly stroked her chin. "You know me Caroline, I take the opinion of others very little into consideration."  
She rested her weight on her arm facing him completely. "Elena and Sage came to see me earlier, they are hiding something from me."

Klaus nodded hating that the warm pattern she was leaving on his chest wasn't enough to take his mind off the serious tone the conversation just took. "I suspect Elijah and Finn are up to something, which is not even a surprise."  
There was a knock on the door of their room and they both squinted waiting for the voice of the brave soul interrupting their night.

_"Nik? I must talk to you." _  
Kol surprised them both and Klaus reluctantly let Caroline go; she was already leaving his side, always so accepting of his role as a ruler and a brother.

Klaus closed the Denim and was buttoning his shirt when he opened the heavy door for Kol. "What do you want?"  
Kol ignored the slightly ticked off tone and nodded to the hall. "We need to speak to you."

Klaus moved so he could see the other waiting for them, Henrik waved at him but looked behind making sure no one was seeing them.  
Klaus stepped outside into the hall glancing to Caroline that now closed a satin robe around her perfect body. "What is it?" he asked already in a grumpy mood.

Kol and Henrik walked down the hall silently asking him to follow them; the night was quietly coming to an end and dawn greeted them as they all reached the courtyard.  
"The secrecy is making me urge for a drink." Klaus mused because his siblings looked so grave.

"A lot has happened during the centuries that you were locked away." Henrik said after making sure again that no one was seeing them.  
Even before Kol spoke a word Klaus already knew this was bad.

"As soon as you were taken by The Immaculatus, this family was severed in two. In one side you have Finn and Elijah politely trying to overthrow you and on the other side you have Henrik and I trying to survive the anarchy that your absence brought to this kingdom."  
"So I have two brothers on my side?"

"I like being a Royal vampire and I don't particularly enjoy when peasants look at me like I'm one of them." Kol sneered.  
"You are my brother and I have nothing against you, if anything you have always provided us with the best and I understand that someone had to make the hard decisions and I admire you for always taking them unwaveringly." Henrik assured Klaus.

"Also he is in love with a witch so he secretly hopes that you will kill all The Immaculatus."  
"Shut up Kol." Henrik hissed.

Kol smirked proving his point.  
"I think there are too many after that empty chair but I am back now and I will be taking my place, it really doesn't matter how many I have on my side because this is my destiny. It has always been."

"The vampires are ready to walk in the sun without a ring for you, they have wept for their lost queen and will always blindly support you because Caroline is by your side… the werewolves are a very different story." Henrik explained his brother.  
"They became very powerful while you were away."

Klaus narrowed his eyes looking at Kol for a better explanation.  
"Qetsiyah sacrificed herself on a full moon granting them the possibility to turn when they please."

"I see…" Klaus paced a little around thoughtful.  
"And The Immaculatus took full credit for it, therefore all the werewolves now support them."

"And the witches?" Klaus looked at Henrik.  
"Practically forbidden to practice now because the Church gained the control over the Bennett line, Qetsiyah cursed her bloodline to serve them forever but they aren't exactly nice. A lot of despicable things happen inside the monastery and the Bennett witches started to rebel, the rest of the witches are just waiting for someone to lead them into an insurgence."

"I love a good mutiny." Klaus smiled already forging a plan or two.  
"We have to be careful, it's all turned very political now and we have to be cautious of whose heads we are collecting because there hasn't been a war since you were locked away, and apparently people like that… go figure." Kol scoffed before leaving the courtyard.

"What happened to him? He used to be so cheerful." Klaus asked Henrik.  
"He fell in love and The Immaculatus burned her in the town square. It was a very loud warning that we no longer had the power we once had, when he went to Elijah and Finn seeking for help to avenge her, they hid behind Elena and Sage."

"Exactly what they told me… this family has turned into a joke, pushed into a corner by commons…" Klaus spat out in fury. "Shamefully recoiling to a corner? We are the Royal Vampires and I will not accept the dishonor that now rests upon my family's name."  
Henrik smiled with a nod. "I missed seeing someone with spunk around here. Elijah is a shadow of who he once was and Finn is a puppet to Sage that would have tried everyone's bed had we allowed her."

Klaus nodded understanding it all. "Do you think they had something to do with what happened that night?"  
"I waited by the horses with Rebekah but Finn and Sage took their time getting there…"

"Of course… and Rebekah, what is her position in all of this?"  
"Rebekah is a sweetheart but she lives her life quietly and in a very dull way."

"I want my baby sister to stay untainted to everything." Klaus smiled wishing to see her now.  
"Not to worry there." Henrik tapped Klaus' shoulder before leaving.

* * *

She ran faster now, she had to get to the caves before she crossed paths with someone on a morning horse ride. She stopped as soon as the smallest sound woke her senses, someone was here with her and she spun around worried.  
There was a blur and she pinned someone against a tree.

After blinking he found the brightest blue eyes staring at him, a perfect match to his and he melted into a big smile before taking her lips. He kissed her with passion and a longing that was building over the two weeks they hadn't been together.  
"I missed you…" she whispered as soon as he trailed her neck.

"I missed you more Princess." his husky voice made her skin wrinkle.  
Rebekah gasped happy when he picked her up and carried her inside the caves, she could barely wait to make love to him again.

* * *

**Soundtrack: **

Royals - _Lorde_

All the right moves_ - One Republic _

Untouched_ - The Veronicas _

Kiss from a rose – _Straight no chaser feat. Seal _


	3. Flowers

"Caroline?" Klaus called from the bedroom.  
"I'm in the really big bathtub…" she answered sipping on her wine.

He halted by the door with the biggest smile. "It looks awfully big for you to be there all alone."  
She laughed dropping her glass of wine on the floor next to the tub. "I would ask my husband to join me but he vanished after our passionate reunion last night."

He clasped his lips and bowed to her solemnly. "My biggest apologies my love."  
She adorably pouted and buried her hands under the massive white blanket of bubbles. "I'll consider it."

Klaus tamed a low growl imagining the body her hands were touching and the naughty smile she added now didn't quite help, he came near her and sat on the edge of the tub. "There are conspiracies, idle whispers and foul plans to overthrown me. Again." he added absolutely spent.  
"Luckily for you, I was a very attentive girl during my imprisonment…" she blew a little bubble that she was holding in the palm of her hand.

"I was convinced that you were not awake during the centuries Caroline." his voice changed instantly and she could feel the heavy weight of the pain starting to crush him so Caroline moved closer to him taking hold of his cheek at once.  
"I fought the vervain for a reason Niklaus, they were all very talkative around me and once I was placed inside that small chapel I became the main attraction so I had a lot of visits and they often forgot I was merely grey on the outside..." He was not nearly appeased and she gave him a look before cradling his neck between her hands. "Stop mopping Niklaus and ask me all that I know."

"I'm digesting my anger for the time being because I don't have anyone at reach to brutally kill."  
She let out a small giggle and cunningly pulled him down inside the tub, her glass of wine was filled with water as his heavy body covered hers, Caroline soothingly stroked the back of his neck. "I need you to calm down so I can tell you how we are going to end The Immaculatus and give enough rope for Finn and Sage to hang themselves."

"Not Elijah?" Klaus squinted.  
Caroline moved her hands under his shirt and slowly pulled it up and away from his fault free body, the long back she had missed scratching was now at her reach to caress and to leave a sweet pattern of love. "Elijah became a little tamed pony, Elena does what she pleases with him and he is so invested in making her happy that he has no idea what Finn and Sage are planning."

"I have a feeling I won't like this a bit…"  
"That's the beauty of it all Niklaus, you will actually love it." she whispered against his lips before nudging him for a kiss with the tip of her tongue.

* * *

"I never know if we should send help to the rooms when you are up there with your husband, I'm never quite sure if he is killing you or if it's the other way around." Sage acidly said while fixing a big vase of flowers and targeting the couple now coming down the staircase.  
Caroline kissed Klaus before he left, as he passed Sage he bastardly smiled at her. "A good marriage leaves a few scars to mend after."

"And a few bruises as well." Sage picked up a few carnations that she would place in another vase.  
"Nothing like a few claw marks to know that you are doing something right." Caroline cornered her before she reached the next table.

"I wouldn't know, my husband is the most docile man." Sage sighed.  
Caroline reached for a carnation, she took her time smelling it and answering Sage. "I'm hosting a dinner party tomorrow with a few old friends, do you mind making sure everything is perfect?"

"Of course not, I have taken a special interest in looking after our home."  
"I can see that." Caroline waved the carnation around the room filled with red flowers, much like a lot of things in the castle.

"I hope that's not an inconvenience now that you have returned..." Sage slowly held her own by piercing Caroline with her older eyes.  
Caroline easily smiled. "Not at all, good help is always so hard to find." she handed the flower back to Sage. "I want white roses in all the vases, see to it please?"

Sage lost the color in her rosy cheeks at once. "Of course... my Queen." The words left her with visible pain.  
Caroline left straightening her short blazer and smoldering her way in the new skinny Jeans that she liked a lot.

The view from the balcony always left her in awe but she still had to get used to the new items in the driveway, exactly why she rushed to the place she knew hadn't changed with time.

* * *

"All my family reunited, this is a sight." Klaus spoke as he came into the big room, he addressed all of his brothers but it was Rebekah that earned a sweet kiss on the cheek.  
She closed her eyes always so weak to his affection displays.

"Why have you called us all?" Elijah asked certain that this was not something he would enjoy.  
"To sip on blood and discuss our feelings." Klaus took the chair across Elijah.

"There is a reason why we have kept this room and this table untouched, it has witnessed many family reunions, decisions and quarrels but it has always been accepted by all, you included Niklaus that in here you are not the king and we are all equals so please, drop the sarcasm." Elijah warned him once.  
"But it's my best quality." Klaus spiked him just once before opening his arms.

"You called for this meeting." Finn reminded Klaus why they were here. And he was the first to take the shocking news.  
"I've decided to keep the Council and give peace a chance." Klaus entwined his fingers looking genuine in his features.

Everyone stirred up around him aghast.  
"Are you not seeking for revenge for what they did to you and Caroline?" Henrik honestly seemed to be the one taking the news harder.

"The good old viking days are over and so are the crusade years, it's time to give my sword some rest. As the Original vampires we have learned to adapt to a constant changing world, I'm merely catching up to progress and having the wisdom to acknowledge that this is the right option to keep my family safe."  
"I did not see that one coming." Kol quietly said.

On the spot Klaus knew that was the last he would hear from Kol.  
"And who will you be naming for the Council?" Finn asked with a nervous tic.

Klaus could always tell when Finn was about to nervously faint, he kept blinking for no reason. "You and Elijah have been the managers of all affairs on my absence, it's only fair that I give you the vampires to look after."  
Elijah was perplexed and the little sound he made before running his hand through his hair gave him away. "I'd be honored brother."

That one was easy and Klaus looked at Finn that could hardly believe how well things were unfolding for him.  
"And the humans?" Rebekah's voice erupted like a small rebellious act that had every brother looking at her. "I didn't expect you to invite me to be part of the holy brotherhood..." she stood up mad and pulled a small dagger she had hidden under her jacket, after cutting her palm she closed her hand over the Family symbol carved on the table. "... but my blood is as red as yours and you tend to forget that."

"Are you addressing any of us in particular or..." Klaus asked cautiously hiding a smirk.  
She dropped the dagger with her blood in front of him. "I want the humans."

"I could have lived without the theatrical act Rebekah, you can have them all."  
She smiled savoring her victory and left the room, they could carry on with their boring issues, she had what she came here for.

But it was the perfect cue for Finn to rush away to tell Sage about the news, Elijah and Henrik left quietly as well.  
"Why do all our family gatherings end in blood and drama?" Klaus asked Kol picking the bloodied knife.

"I can't answer that but it's not very reassuring that she came armed and ready for it."  
The underline smirk was there and Klaus smiled at his brother, out of them all he was the one that had changed the most and Klaus didn't like that.

"If you need anything Kol..."  
Kol narrowed his eyes a little, he couldn't hide how the small comment suddenly meant so much to him and he stood up relishing in that. "I assume Henrik and I are not part of this new ensemble that you are gathering."

Klaus' smile showed Kol exactly what he had in mind and the other nodded at him with an easy smile.  
"Whatever plan you and the crazy blonde have going on, I like it a lot."

"I know." Klaus dropped the dagger on top of the big Fleur-de-lis carved on the table.

* * *

Bonnie was eyeing the big animal with a lifted eyebrow, this was the closest she had been to a horse and she was curious to touch him but every time she made a move towards it the horse would make this awful sound that scared her.  
"That one is a beauty." Caroline said warmly next to Bonnie making her jump.

"Ugh, I can't get used to vampires." she said without thinking. Quickly realizing her unfortunate comment, she covered her mouth and waited for her punishment.  
It came in the form of a laughter. "I really like you." Caroline said while her bubbly curls shook along with her.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie said behind the hand covering her mouth.  
Caroline sweetly took her hand down and offered her a really warm smile. "Never be afraid to speak your mind."

Bonnie pursed her eyebrows worried. "Henrik says that it will get me into trouble one day."  
"Umm... Henrik." Caroline mused.

Bonnie awkwardly blushed. "He's the only friend I have... and the only person I know outside the monastery so that's why I'm still around ruining the Royal thing with my peasant presence."  
Caroline laughed again, the girl was very funny and she loved that about her. She could also tell how horses made her uncomfortable so she took Bonnie's shoulders and guided her to the big property ahead of them for a stroll. "You are very welcome in this house."

Bonnie chuckled. "House... you live in a really ancient castle. Like... for real, your dungeons are bigger than my former room."  
"Were you kept in the monastery for long?"

"I was born there. My mother was handed to them when she was just a baby and... well the..." Bonnie lowered her voice. "The priests..."  
Caroline stopped looking at the girl with attentive eyes.

"Well one of them is my father." Bonnie said ashamed.  
Caroline couldn't believe such atrocity to be true. "What happened to your mother?"

"She killed herself, there is only one way for a Bennett to leave that place; in a wooden box."  
Caroline smiled warmly again. "You found a new way and that makes you the bravest girl living in this house right now."

Bonnie laughed but mostly in disbelief. "I don't know about that... I've heard about you."  
"You have?" Caroline played with a sunflower she just caught.

"We had a priest there that was actually nice, Father Russell; he never did any of the horrible things the others did, instead he told us about the legends no one was allowed to mention and he was quite smitten by your story. So he told us all about the courageous human that stole the King's attention during a Royal Ball and that the king took under his wing as his favorite until she was turned and then married to him."  
Caroline placed the small flower on Bonnie's hair and then took her arm. "Is that what they really say about me?"

"Yes and that you were very innocent and frail at first, that he made you stronger and tougher..."  
Caroline laughed enchanted with the tale. "Well Bonnie... they have it almost right except that I didn't meet Niklaus during a Royal Ball and I wasn't exactly the delicate frail type when we first met either."

Bonnie didn't take her eyes from the Queen as Caroline began to unfold the sweet memories.

* * *

**Early 16th Century**

The man inspected her without shame, he scanned the beautiful blue eyes that narrowed at him and then searched her cleavage that he could only imagine because it was hidden behind the thick blue fabric of her dress.

There was a small scoffing from the girl when her mother tugged the blonde hair framing the dour face and he quickly added a mental note, the girl would have to be taught some manners but she was really good on the eye so she would make his nights pleasing.  
He would make sure she did.

Caroline gulped down disgusted with the devious smile that took over the man in front of her, he was the worst so far and of course that her father favorite him already.  
She felt incredibly discouraged when William accepted the sword the despicable man brought with him, surely she was worth more than a thin piece of metal.

"Master Fell has come to ask for your hand." William smiled informing her with a warning beaming in his eyes.  
"I need both of my hands, I'm not giving any of them away." she defied him adding a small smile.

Her mother cleared her throat urging Caroline to behave but she had other plans for today and buckled her knees holding the dress in her hands. "I'm not interest good Sir, you can go on your way now."  
The man shot his head to William, apparently he was promised something else entirely.

"She's nervous as expected…" The Forbes patriarch offered a quick excuse.  
"Perhaps a quick word with your daughter is in order?" Fell wasn't even good at pretending how much he was itching to teach her some compliance.

Caroline gritted her teeth under a heavier scold from her father that took her arm and guided her outside to the family garden.  
"Have you that much desire to go against me and shame this family?" he hissed as soon as they were distant enough.

Caroline wriggled her way out of his strong hand. "I just wish everyone would stop courting me and that you didn't whore me to every single wealthy man in the land."  
He was truly appalled and released her arm. "What manners are those of addressing your father? And when did you learn to speak like that?" he closed his eyes taken by rage. "You have been spending time with that vampire again, haven't you?"

"Stefan is my best friend and he treats me with respect, he doesn't look at me like I'm a piece of deer like all the ones you bring home asking for my hand and to everything attached to it."  
"I have allowed you to have your childish freedom but you are turning 17 this year and I will not have the shame of harboring an unmarried daughter inside my home." His voice grew of intensity.

"Precisely father, I will be 17 in two months and then I'm allowed to choose whose lineage I want and I've already decided." she bravely confronted him.  
"I will never give you permission."

"It's not your permission that I need. Every human is given the chance to decide once they turn 17." she pushed her luck by raising her voice at him.  
William had a bad temper and she shouldn't be playing with that but she was decided on this and she wouldn't back down on her future.

"Is this the reason you have been acting out and refusing all the good proposals that have come our way?"  
Caroline clenched her teeth before answering him. "I don't want this, I don't want to get married to a man I don't feel anything for. I cannot even imagine how awful it must be to sleep next to a man with nothing but despite for him, dreading the moment he lays a finger on me." she sighed a little and looked at her father for understanding. "Let me do this, I've spoken to Stefan already and he will give a good word with the king and perhaps I can go to the castle like Elena did and…"

William instantly stopped her enthusiastic speech. "My daughter will not be the _maid_ of the Royal Family."  
"Because then you wouldn't have enough money for your little vices, isn't that so father? How would you keep your mistress happy if you don't have money?"

William tilted his head barely taming his anger. "That will be enough Caroline."  
"I am not my mother that shuts her eyes to everything and I refuse to sell myself so you can buy new dresses for your whore." she courageously shouted at him.

Again she was using that language he did not approve off and her blunt disobedience did not sit well with him, before he even thought about it his hand was cutting through air and then he hit her so hard across the face that the family ring cut right through her flesh.  
Caroline was so stunned at first that she even ignored how her face seemed to be violently severed in two.

"Caroline…" he reacted fast, regret consuming him as he saw how vile he had been with her but it was too late.  
She clasped her lips and her tears and hurriedly turned her back on him, she grabbed her dress and shot in a race across the field getting away from him as fast as her weak legs allowed her; he was so struck by shock that his legs didn't move at all and he numbly looked at his hand, he looked at the ring smeared with her blood.

Caroline just kept running, she knew Stefan was away but she would hide in his property until she found the will to face her cruel father again. The big Salvatore estate was just next to hers but she had to cut through the woods, mostly to make sure her father didn't follow her, he never ventured through the woods and she knew them like no one.

She looked back beyond the big trees before reaching the small road that travelers used, thankfully she had been right about her father and he wasn't after her, all she had to do now was have another small race to Stefan's home; without looking she crossed the road missing the man racing in the dark horse.

Caroline pulled back but it was almost too late, fortunately the man had really good reflexes and pulled the horse back at the last second.  
She pressed her chest with a hoarse breath and looked for the reckless rider that almost run over her. "How about you watch the road before you take everything in front of you Sir?"

The man was covered in a dark cloak with a hood, all she could see was a glimpse to an unshaven face; one that eased up on the tense lines when he smiled at her. "How about you don't cross the road without looking first… milady?"  
She curved her eyebrows with the way he said the last word, like he was toying with her. "The road does not belong only to you." she answered annoyingly touching her burning cheek, there was something wet that was bothering her.

The man came down from the horse, apprehensively Caroline took a small step back as he neared her; part of his cloak was strapped over his shoulder covering his chest but he took the rim of the black loose fabric and tore a piece from it.  
Caroline let out a small gasp as he stopped inches away from her, when he silently moved his hand to touch her face Caroline rested a small blade against his neck under the hood. "Do not even dare to touch me."

The man smiled and turned his head a bit, a set of blazing blue eyes took her breath away and although the hood still covered most of his face she could guess how handsome he was.  
"Before you push that blade I would like to know the name of my killer."

She wasn't sure how to react because he sounded amused. "Caroline Forbes." she tried to sound strong but he wasn't moving away from the blade gently scratching his skin.  
Instead of demanding that she took the blade away he finished what he neared her to do and touched her cheek with the cloth, it made her flinch but she scarcely showed weakness.

"That is one nasty cut…"  
His deep voice snapped her away from the struggle to see his face properly. "A small attempt to keep me in line." she said slowly taking the knife Stefan gave her away from the man's neck.

He nodded happy with her decision and ran his thumb over the open cut. "What have you done that earned you such an ill punishment?"  
"I don't want to accept any of the men my father has chosen for me."

There was a small chuckle from him and she grimaced at once.  
"Don't tell me you are part of my father's list and that you were on your way to my house..."

He laughed truly amused and pulled his hood down. "I'm afraid I don't know your father and I have my own flock of women that my brothers try to make me court."  
She smiled enchanted and she should have been mad at herself for it but he was so beautiful, she had never seen anyone like him; the blue eyes, the strong features and the perfect lips made her question if he was even real.

"Do you have any useful advice?" she asked him quietly but keeping her eyes on his.  
"I went to war to get away from my siblings and their tedious list of contenders."

It was her turn to laugh and she coyly looked down before she gasped loudly. "Do you know Stefan Salvatore? He is my best friend and he went away to war as well."  
"I do, he is my general." he replied with a candid smile.

Caroline beamed. "So you are fighting in the name of the King?"  
"Do you know him?" he asked with a calm voice.

She shook her head. "No, but my friend Stefan likes him very much."  
"I've heard that he is not that esteemed."

She rolled her eyes. "We are at war with those pesky ministers that now decided they are above and better than everyone else, naming themselves as the pure ones? If it wasn't for the king they would be killing everyone they do not approve off."  
"You do not stand behind their view of a world purged of vampires and werewolves?" he asked curious about her opinion.

Her eyes began to glisten with excitement. "Of course not, I've chosen to be a vampire and I'm going before the Royal Family in two months to ask for permission to be turned."  
"A beautiful girl who loathes The Immaculatus and wants to be a vampire? I'm battling if you are a fabrication of my tired mind."

Caroline's cheek began to sting again as the heat of a blush covered her face, she touched her perfect curls before searching his powerful eyes again; as the sun hit them on the side of the road his eyes seemed to slightly change into a green shade which affected her and her voice came out somewhat strained. "Do you like vampires as well?"  
"It's a close call between vampires and werewolves." he answered in all honesty.

"Vampires are far better." she huffed looking absolutely adorable. "They are stronger, fearless and ageless." she said smugly like she was already one of them.  
He stole her breath again when he began to laugh, the sound made her shiver and Caroline gulped down spotting a set of dimples.

"They are outstanding creatures." he had to agree with her. "But werewolves are passionate, powerful and their only weakness is the full moon."  
"Which one are you?" she asked slowly but assertive.

He would have answered her gladly but the unexpected conversation was interrupted when two horses approached them in a hurry, he felt Caroline wane down next to him and all that natural joy seemed to decrease with each second that it took the two men to near them.

"As I told your father, there was no reason to worry, you couldn't have gone that far… I wasn't even counting on the company to slow you down." Fell spoke with a criticism that really rubbed Caroline in all the wrong places.  
"I have not accepted your courtship in case my father neglected to tell you."

The man looked at William as they came down from the horses.  
"Caroline…" She was severely reprimanded by a scold before William turned his attention towards the stranger in black. "And who is this?"

Caroline opened her mouth but she didn't have a name to go with the dashing face and the husky voice that kept her company before her father found them.  
"Just a soldier returning home." he answered without rush.

William didn't bother giving him another look, he already didn't like the arrogant smile and he didn't want Caroline near him. "We shall not keep you any longer; I'm afraid my daughter has wasted everyone's time today."  
The blonde knew she didn't have much choice; the cut on her face would be very small compared to what her father would do if she kept defying him today by striking back with a visceral reply so she literally dragged her feet away from the perfect man who made her smile and laugh today.

William held his hand for her but she looked away ready to go past him and walk home; it was stronger than her, she always enjoyed drawing out that rope as much as she could. When her father grabbed her arm she knew how far she had stretched it today, Caroline tried to keep any of her dignity before the stranger whose name she hadn't even asked but her father looked ready to teach her a lesson right there.

"Caroline has most definitely been an outstanding company and not a _waste_ of my very precious time."  
William and Caroline looked back at the man in sheer surprise.

"Who are you?" William demanded to know again.  
As he unleashed his cloak the armor he was wearing underneath sparkled in the sun and the big Royal symbol made Caroline wheeze.

"Oh my God…" she whispered as the painted Fleur-des-lis stood up to her.  
"I'm Klaus Mikaelson." he said looking at Caroline that respectfully moved her eyes to the ground.

William went down in one knee taken aback with the presence. "Your majesty, I'm sorry… I had no idea."  
The moment was delicate to handle considering the short temper the king was known to have but Fell burst into a ridiculous laughter. "I highly doubt this is the actual king… where is your escort, why are you traveling alone?"

Klaus slowly faced him. "Why would I need an escort?"  
"What if someone tries to kill you?" he asked with a smug scorn. "Obviously you are an imposter trying to win over immature silly girls who fall for a cheap impersonation of the _Dark King_."

Klaus wet his lips slowly, a movement caught in detail by Caroline's enthralled eyes; then before she could fully comprehend what just happened there was another move that was too fast for her human eyes.  
She narrowed them as the sun hit the blade of a shiny heavy sword but Klaus was already putting the sword away so she felt a bit lost until Fell's head slid down from his body and dropped to the ground.

She gulped down a scream but the sight of seeing a man decapitated strangely didn't shock her as much as she expected and undeniably there wouldn't be any tears for a man she had no sympathy for.  
When she pulled away from her inner thoughts his remarkable blue eyes were in front of her with a daze of his own.

"I expect to see you in two months Caroline still with the same determination to become a vampire."  
She smiled because his voice was sweet or maybe there was something about him that simply invoked that will to smile in her. "I hope the werewolf side of my King doesn't cloud his judgment when I come forward with my formal request."

He only had eyes for her when he went back to his big black horse and a sumptuous smile just for her. "I cannot say the same for your beauty sweetheart."  
She could have sworn he just winked at her before he raced down the road in the powerful black horse.

"I'm not sure how I will explain this to others…" William crouched near the severed body.  
Caroline nodded oblivious to what he was saying, she was too focused on the small detail that the king just called her sweetheart.

* * *

"That's so much better than the version Father Russell gave us." Bonnie whispered excited.  
"It was love at first sight though I fiercely deny it to this day, it would be exactly two months until we saw each other again and started a little game between us. He said he would only grant me the coveted vampire status if I agreed to be one of his many courtesans. I was livid and appalled, I admit so I decided that he could keep his Royal status for himself, I rather join The Immaculatus than to become just another one of the women he took to his chambers."

"How did he react?" Bonnie asked with wide curious eyes.  
"He started killing all the men that dared to court me."

Bonnie gulped down loudly.  
"We started a silly quarrel and eventually the entire situation became too silly not laugh at it, after many parties and endless spats between us, mixed with a few heartfelt conversations in the Autumn Ball he said he was going away to war again and my heart fell right there. I didn't want him to go at all and I didn't want to lose him... we made love that night and when he came back the next winter he made me his wife."

"Oh my God, you have ruined it for everyone else..." Bonnie grumbled aware she was never finding that kind of love.  
Caroline looked back listening to the horse, her eyes always sparkled in that exact same way when she saw him.

"Good afternoon ladies, mind if I still my wife?" Klaus asked Bonnie.  
"Not at all." she smiled at Caroline.

The blonde took Klaus' hand and he easily scooped her up to sit with him on the horse, she laced her arms tightly around him as he kicked his heels and the horse shot across the field.  
Bonnie stroked her arms feeling cold as the warm love story galloped away from her, she didn't have much to do so she went for a walk.

She lost track of time and night was already making its way fast when she spotted the small graveyard, it really said a lot about her personality when she naturally ended up in the family cemetery.  
As expected there weren't many graves, after all they were all immortals so she made an educated guess by assuming the very few sad graves belonged to the loyal staff.

She also knew that Klaus had a cemetery reserved for the soldiers he lost in battle and this was far from it.  
The walk through the cemetery was short and she would have moved on hadn't that beautiful white marble caught her attention; there was a small inscription that Bonnie read out loud once she was close enough to it.

_"Sleeping not dead, the keeper of my heart. My beloved love Beth."  
_  
"What are you doing here?" Kol startled her.  
Not a big surprise there but the flowers he was holding told her she was dangerously trespassing. "I was just... walking."

"Resume to it and don't come back here." he coldly said waiting for her to leave.  
"I'm on my way." she apologized averting her eyes from him, the guy really gave her the sinister chills.

She avoided running away but she was still quick about it and glanced back once watching him rest the flowers carefully among all the others already there, it said a lot about the flowers he chose because yellow roses were a witch favorite.

* * *

"Going out?" Henrik showed up in front of Rebekah as she tried to sneak out of the house.  
She clutched the car keys on her hand. "I will be part of the Council, I need to start assessing who will be on my side."

"Have you called Matt already with the news?"  
Rebekah nervously looked around before taking his arm and pushing Henrik to the side. "What do you want to keep shut about that?"

"I already lied to Nik to cover up your very scandalous affair with the human, don't worry about that but I need a little favor."  
"Of course you do..." she sighed hating that he looked absolutely adorable while blackmailing her.

* * *

"So Finn was stoked about it?" Caroline asked quietly as they now walked side by side towards the big waterfall.  
Klaus nodded and then stroked the horse's head, he padded the horse once before setting him loose to enjoy the meadow as well.

Caroline smiled when Klaus turned to her and laced his arms around her.  
"He was so shocked that I invited him that he couldn't even disguise the glee of having the perfect opportunity to stab me in the back."

"I will continue our plan tomorrow, I can hardly wait to see Sage fondle for words when she realizes who is coming for dinner."  
"Have you spoken to Stefan?"

A small worried line crossed her perfect forehead and he quickly eased it up by kissing it. "I will tell him, if he has to be mad at someone let it be me."  
"I love you so much." she said enveloped in all the memories her talk with Bonnie stirred up and the way it felt to be in his arms.

He kissed her powerfully keeping her in his embrace and then he smiled before his eyes indulged in all that beauty before him. "I know, you made me kill half the kingdom before you allowed me inside that petulant heart of yours."  
Now would be the moment to finally tell Klaus that she fell in love with him when he was still wearing a hood and she couldn't see his face properly, and that she was his even before she heard his voice but instead she sauntered a regal smile and sank her teeth into his lower lip until she made him bleed.

"But I have kept you there ever since." she said and ran her tongue over his lip taking the blood for herself.  
Before she swallowed the blood Klaus was taking her tongue hostage.

* * *

**Soundtrack: **

Temptation - _Moby_

Heartbeats - _Ellie Goulding_

Skin & bones - _Fit for a king_


	4. The seasons of our love

**Early 16****th**** Century**

**The Royal Spring Ball**

"I don't fully grasp the reason behind this looming war between our Church and the werewolves and Vampires; it really is beyond my comprehension why everyone is trying to kill each other." A very annoyed young man said while sipping on his champagne.  
"Their view of a cleansed world is not that far-fetched at all." William whispered ending his drink, one of the many he had already.

He was still juggling with the fact that he was invited personally by the Royal Family to attend this dance with Caroline and that by coincidence her latest pretender had been invited as well.  
The rich heir of the biggest horse breeders family had taken a special interest in the beautiful girl wearing tonight an impressive torrid yellow dress with embroidery in the cleavage and a golden belt whose ends fell perfectly against the wide skirt, she sighed with her hands crossed and her eyes glued on the small crowd dancing inside the ballroom while they stood in the balcony.

Her pretender waved an empty glass at William. "It's a lot of hassle for a bunch of true bloods if you ask me."  
"Pure breed." Caroline said without looking at the man currently keen on courting her.

"I beg your pardon?"  
He finally seemed aware that he was to marry her and not her father and Caroline returned the look. "They are called pure breeds. Every vampire that comes from the Royal lineage is called a Pure Breed because they are turned with Original blood, they are not called _True Bloods_."

"However greatly informed you sound, I haven't asked you." his tone was surprisingly harsh.  
Caroline moved her body to face him completely and ultimately defy him. "And the Royal Family chooses those who are turned by them, those who aren't lucky to be chosen are just half-breeds turned by lesser vampires."

"And every human that doesn't have the werewolf mark or the witchcraft gift is given the chance to choose if they want to be turned into vampires but only when they have lived 18 moons because turning a human before they come off age is forbidden and punishable with the death of both the creator and the creation."  
"So you know a little more than just horses." Caroline mused.

The young man smiled but there wasn't anything nice about his smile. "I also know that the place of a respectful woman is to stay quiet until asked otherwise." he handed her his empty glass.  
Caroline frowned looking at it.

"And to do what she is ordered."  
Caroline's jaw dropped and she instantly looked at her father but William was heavily looking into his glass without raising his head, she could not believe he had chosen this very instant to be a coward but she was incredulous nonetheless when he left the couple in the balcony and headed for the garden without meeting her eyes.

She pressed her stomach hard with one hand and took the glass with the other, there was no point creating a scene during a fabulous Ball that she was missing altogether.  
Just as she was facing away from the nauseating smirk in her pretender a strong hand stopped her before going far, she almost dropped the glass when she searched for the owner of the big hand in her arm.

"Why don't you stay right where you are sweetheart?" Klaus smiled at her.  
She gulped down struggling to blink in the process.

"Your highness!" The young man bowed his head a little.  
Klaus smiled at Caroline before facing the arrogant man. "I would love to keep listening to your opinions."

The man opened up his mouth to speak but Klaus looked at Caroline.  
"I always find your opinions quite fascinating." he drove the other man to be silent at once and Caroline to blush.

She felt the empty glass slide in her hand. "We've only spoken once my Lord, at the side of the road and when I had no notion of who you really were."  
Klaus waved at the servant that immediately approached them, he took a drink for himself and one for Caroline; she smiled tugging her beautiful curls and replaced the glass in her hand with cold champagne.

"Would you have treated me any differently if you knew who I really was?" Klaus asked her holding his smile.  
Caroline had a small sip from the strong beverage. "I don't believe so."

"And you are intentionally erasing our last conversation from your short list."  
She held the glass with poise and smiled politely at him. "I rather forget the moment I was offered a visit to your chambers in exchange for my vampire condition."

"I don't mean to interrupt…" the man quietly spoke making them both look at him. "But your father has left out this small trivial information from your pedigree."  
"I am not a horse _Sir_." she angrily said.

"A horse is easily tamed." he shot back waving at the servant for more champagne.  
Klaus halted the servant with a move of his finger before he faced the small man, properly eyeing him and making him incredibly nervous. "Who are you exactly?"

"I am Claude Goodrich, from the ancient families in the East and my family delivers the best horses to this Kingdom…" he glanced at Caroline. "William Forbes has come up me to me to court Caroline, I'm contemplating." he obviously didn't sound too excited.  
"Perhaps I can be of some usage." There was a small darkness behind Klaus' smile.

Claude lessened his eyes but Klaus was too fast for his human comprehension and only screamed when Klaus was already throwing him over the balcony.  
Klaus swiftly turned to Caroline and flashed grabbing the glass she just dropped, he handed his glass and hers to the servant taught to be blind and deaf to everything happening in the Castle.

"You…" Caroline murmured pointing at the balcony. "You just…"  
"He was an idiotic excuse for a contender for your hand." Klaus placed his hand on the small of her back easily taking her away.

Caroline struggled to look back and still pointed behind her. "You just threw a man over a balcony."  
He showed her the most adorable dimples. "Now you can finally start enjoying the Ball."

"But… you…" she shook her head adorably lost for words.  
Klaus took away his hand from her back and took her hand turning on his side facing a small crowd.

"What… are… you… doing?" she whispered between small breaths that she took in immersed in panic.  
"I assume that you can dance because I've seen you sway to the sound of the piano and you had a sorrow look all night while everyone danced and you were forced to listen to horses and mind-numbing topics without taking part in any of it." he spoke just as he started leading them forward.

The crowd parted at once for the King and his chosen partner for the next dance.  
Caroline's palm became sweaty and she clutched her dress. "I can't do this…" she whispered even lower now.

Klaus stopped in the middle of the big ballroom. "I believe there is very little that you can't do Caroline and I would suggest breathing for the next part because we can't have you fainting while dancing with the most important man at the party."  
She took a very deep breath trying to block everyone surrounding them and focused on him, Caroline took his hand with her right one and placed her left on his big shoulder, unwillingly she gulped down feeling how massive he was under the blue velvet coat and when he slowly nodded the music erupted.

Beautifully and powerfully involving them and then without a single problem they both appeared to fly across that floor without even touching it, they effortlessly fitted together so perfectly that it made them both smile.  
The dance was stunning to watch and it began to catch the attention of the crowd, not only from the one watching the dance but also from the couples that ceased dancing so they could appreciate the regal couple dancing flawlessly.

Without looking away from each other once, Caroline and Klaus ended their dance making the entire room explode into a deafening sound of conceding clapping.  
Caroline touched her heart a bit out of breath and he pressed his chest with a hand bowing to her, as he did so she looked around the room taken by all the people smiling and clapping at them.

She felt her cheeks come alive with that scarlet red but she also felt something else; never in her life had Caroline even foster the idea but having an entire audience before her like this made her feel like a queen.  
And as her eyes locked with his blue ones again, the thought regally danced in her eyes as well. She could be _his _Queen.

"Who is this beautiful girl?"  
A tall woman with red hair and the raunchiest dress Caroline had ever seen approached them snapping both away from an unspoken conversation held by their eyes.

"This is Caroline Forbes." Klaus introduced her with the tenderest voice she had heard yet from him.  
As the room slowly returned to the usual commotion and another dance started, they all moved to a side of the Ballroom that only made Caroline anxious. She was now in the company of two of the older members of the Royal Family, Finn and Elijah.

"I knew a Forbes clan from the North…" Finn said and smiled at his wife.  
The woman in the red hair launched a careful inspection at Caroline that covered her from the rim of her dress to the last curl on her hair.

"Travelers and one of the clans that first colonized our kingdom..." Klaus smiled at his siblings. "Caroline's father William descends from the Founding Families."  
Sage pressed her lips with an impressed look but Caroline was baffled, she looked at Klaus struck by his well-informed speech.

He kept his eyes on the man that mattered to him but Elijah was distracted flirting with the maid he took a liking to.  
"Well, she dances magnificently." Sage smiled at Caroline. "I enjoyed that very much."

"Thank you…" Caroline sweetly smiled.  
"But now you must dance with the Blackwood girl, her tribe traveled for two weeks so they could attend this Ball and we want the werewolves on our side." Sage addressed Klaus and swiftly took his arm cutting his proximity to Caroline; the blonde was left with Sage's back as a view and quickly fell down from her momentary outlandish high aspirations.

She quietly left the Royal Family without looking back, how silly she felt now for harvesting such fantasies, and she grew mad because this wasn't her, she had never thought of anything like this before their dance.  
Caroline was quite lost in her thoughts when her father roughly grabbed her arm and practically dragged her outside to their Coach.

"It was only a dance father…" she tried to stop the scene.  
But her father now grabbed her by both arms and turned her to him. "They just found Claude dead and they are saying he tripped and fell down the balcony, while you were dancing all happy with the King. Do you know how that makes you look?"

Caroline lifted her chin and like usual spiked him. "Actually it was the King himself that plunged Claude to his death."  
"What? I need to keep you away from this castle and this man who kills indiscriminately."

"He is a hybrid, not a man." she defiantly corrected him.  
"A monster and a killer, they say that he asks for everyone's name before slaying them so that he will keep track of the families that will come after him for revenge. And believe me that he is taking a lot of names during this war that is being held against the ministers."

"They just burned twelve girls last week in the public square because they were accused of practicing witchcraft without their permission, that never happened before and it shouldn't happen again. We should all be free to do what we want, to be who we want. That's what the _Dark King _is doing, fighting while everyone else pretends to be ignorant to what has become of this kingdom."  
"Caroline I swear to God that I am about to send you to a Monastery just to keep you in line."

She looked at him aghast. "You wouldn't… delivering me to The Immaculatus would be worse than death."  
"And dying to become a vampire is not a cruel fate?" William shouted at her.

"It's all I want…" Caroline's voice faltered. "I don't want to go through this life being insipid, I want to fight next to Stefan and... the King."  
"So you are destined for greater things, is that it?"

William asked her with a tone she knew all too well, Caroline prepared for a single strike that would cut her wings at once and put her back into her place but another strong hand grabbed William's as he lifted his hand to hit Caroline.  
William looked back stunned but Klaus was kind enough to go in front of William so both men could face each other.

"This is between a father and a daughter." Caroline's father said slowly glancing at her.  
But Klaus severed the view by standing in front of Caroline and stealing the attention to him. "If you ever raise that hand to strike Caroline again I will cut all of your fingers one by one, do you understand me?" he widened his eyes to compel William.

The man nodded silently.  
"Wonderful, also... Caroline is free to come over to the castle every single time she wishes; are we clear on that?"

William nodded again and went to the Coach a bit numbly while Caroline's big eyes searched for answers that were very scarce now.  
Klaus stroked her cheek so lightly that she was astonished how much it brought heat to her skin.

"I hope to see you around more often and that we get to dance again sweetheart."  
As he walked away she touched her blazing cheek and that immoral thought came back.

She was humming the tune they dance to all the way home.

* * *

**Elena and Elijah Mikaelson's Engagement Ball**

"I'm so happy for you." Caroline hugged her friend tight.  
"Remember how we used to dream about this day? Now it's here and I'm going to marry for love." Elena held back the emotional tears.

"And you will be a vampire soon." Caroline said excitedly.  
Elena laughed through the lump in her throat. "You almost sound happier about that than the wedding."

"I just want so badly to be a vampire." Caroline clasped Elena's hands strongly.  
Klaus smiled nearing them and she instantly locked her eyes with his.

"Clearly not enough." he taunted her.  
Caroline rolled her eyes and smiled at Elena. "I need some air, it's awfully dense in here." she glanced to Klaus before storming away.

He effortlessly followed her to the big maze in the garden. "I take it by the small rebellious strut that you are upset with me."  
She laughed without looking back or easing on her fast pace. "You have turned my father into a silly lamb… now instead of shouting at me he starts to cry every time I misbehave."

He deliciously smirked. "I expect him to be out of tears soon."  
She turned so fast that she bumped into his bulky chest, much to his delight and her embarrassment.

"I have a strong personality that does not please everyone." she quickly recovered.  
"I happen to find it most refreshing and dazzling."

"You only want to have your way with me." she scolded him turning away from him and resuming to her walk.  
But it was a much slower walk this time and he easily took her side.

"And you want to be a vampire so why not make the King happy?"  
"Someone needs to tell you no. Obviously you have been spoiled all your life and now think that things will always come to you as easily as the day giving way to the night but not all things in life can or should be demanded. You need to earn them." She had stopped by a small fountain and fearlessly faced him with nothing but conviction in her voice.

"Very well… I will settle for a kiss. Grant me a kiss and I will give you the coveted transition to Vampire."  
"Are you serious?" she asked in a low hesitating voice.

"Quite serious." he replied without hesitation in his.  
Caroline took a deep breath and then nodded. "All right…" she closed her eyes and rested her hands on each side of her body clutching the dress and waiting for him.

When he took too long she opened one eye to find him squinting at her.  
"I meant a real kiss Caroline, one that you will answer back and yearn for more, not one that I will take while you inwardly pray that I will be over soon."

"I think that your expectations are dreadfully high." her answer came swift but dry.  
He smiled enchanted with the girl who so openly challenged him but his features became hard and his voice was thick and heavy in an accent that left her unbalanced.

"I have all the time in the world Caroline and I may not have earned everything in my life but I have conquered all that I possess. Nothing was ever handed to me easily, I fought a tyrant father that used to lock me in a dark dungeon for months afraid that my werewolf gene might trigger when he was too drunk to put up a decent fight so when the first chance presented itself I took his life and the throne from him and I took a stand to protect not only my family but the ones under my reign."

Klaus lingered only a few seconds on her eyes before he walked away and Caroline's heart troubled her by beating so fast she could hear it in her head blurring her fast and harsh judgment on the man who hid so much behind a careful cold pretense.

* * *

**The Royal Summer Ball **

"This is a rare sight… to find you alone without an escort." Klaus surprised her by the balcony.  
There was a slouch from her shoulders but the ivory skin showing from her dress that only started a little below her shoulder was even more striking as she turned around, the cleavage was all covered in the most beautiful jewels and the emerald-green was only making her skin glow before his eyes.

"I'm terrified of bringing anyone to these parties because anyone remotely interested in me ends up dead."  
He answered her deep sigh with an insolent shrug. "I am mostly clueless."

She took a step closer to him and he could have sworn that her eyes were as green as her dress tonight and they weren't as cold and indifferent to him as she stoically wished.  
"The Bellamy family came to my father interest in courting the girl who was seen dancing with the King, surprisingly all the men in the family were summon to go to war the next day." she managed the scowl flawlessly.

"It is a rather cruel war and we need all soldiers at hand." his lips parted to a mischievous smile.  
"This needs to stop." she warned him.

"Caroline love… I've never had so much fun without using a blade, why would I consider stopping now?"  
"I think that I'm beginning to loathe you."

"Then I'm happy that you at least enjoy the gifts." he had his drink amused.  
She opened up to a beaming smile that made him frown and she offered her hand to a man close to Elijah's age as he approached them fast. "This is Maurice Donnelley, his family builds ships…" she looked at Klaus so she could introduce him. "This is the King."

"Such an honor to meet you my Lord." Maurice said serious.  
"Enchanted." Klaus easily replied. "Are you courting Miss Forbes?"

"Yes, I intend to take her with me to travel the vast seas once we are married."  
Klaus looked at Caroline who smiled at him.

"I am most in love with the idea." she said tenderly.  
"You are?" he asked not slightly amused.

"I like this one a lot, he is kind and handsome and I think I will be very happy with him… inside of a ship." she answered with an attitude.  
"Hum…. I see…" Klaus tilted his head for a moment.

Caroline lifted her finger but it was too late and another went over the balcony.  
She closed her eyes steadying her anger. "I'm going for a glass of champagne and you better not follow me."

"It wasn't my intention." Klaus mumbled upset.  
"And I will be returning this dress first thing tomorrow."

The smile returned at once to his harsh features, that meant he would get to see her again.

* * *

**The next day**

"I'm so happy that you are here." Caroline hugged Elena. "Thank you for coming."  
"How could I miss the invitation for dinner at your house?" Elena removed her cloak revealing a really fancy dress, one that surely was a gift from Elijah and that was a bit over the top for a simple meal at Caroline's house.

"You came alone?" Caroline took the cloak to put it away.  
"Elijah had to stay at the castle because there was an imperative family meeting." Elena crossed her hands accusing the nervous fit. "They are all attempting to convince the King to accept the chosen girl the werewolves have sent for him. Elijah believes that if he marries this girl it will finally bring a chance for peace."

Caroline slowly licked her lips and looked down from Elena. "A convenience marriage…"  
"I don't know what to say… Elijah wants this, he truly believes it is the only way to prevent the constant loss of lives but there are rumors in the castle."

Caroline jolted her head, she would not be the talk of idle tongues. "The King will do what's best for all of us. I'm certain of that."  
Elena smiled stroking Caroline's hand gently. "And we will all support him."

Caroline's mother stole Elena's attention, always so happy to see the girl who grew up close to them until her parents died in an accident. After that Elena moved to the castle where she became one of Sage's handmaiden, between furtive looks and long talks she also stole Elijah's heart and was now set to marry him in less than two weeks.

Caroline could tell how much the two childhood friends had grown apart but she still had hoped that Elena could tell how somber her heart had become with the news but that was perhaps asking too much so she left her party behind and went for a small walk.  
Only that she needed a bigger break than the garden in her property offered her so she took her horse and raced through the fields as night fell quietly upon her, she only stopped near the waterfalls and came down from her horse decided on staying here for a bit.

She was stroking the snow-white neck of her horse when a black one slowly approached them, she pulled away from her horse to see who it was and her heart gave her away at once.  
"I was on my way to your estate when I saw you headed this way…" Klaus smiled stepping down from his large horse.

"Why were you going to my home?" she quietly asked him.  
"I wanted to give you this." Klaus took a small package from the horse saddle.

Caroline accepted it with narrowed eyes. "What is this?"  
"A small attempt to redeem myself for always upsetting you when we are together." he expectantly waited for her to open it.

Caroline bit her lower lip as she undid the yellow ribbon around the package and Klaus took in her glowing eyes as she opened the gift revealing a sparkling tiara filled with diamonds.  
"Majesty…" she whispered.

Klaus took the package from her hands and the tiara that he placed in her head. "Please call me Niklaus." he brushed her long wavy locks before stroking her cheek.  
"I shouldn't… Elena came bearing the news. I'm probably standing too close to a taken man."

He slowly moved the back of his hand up and down her cheek. "My only compromise thus far is to my army."  
"There were worried talks in the market yesterday, the werewolves have been attacking small villages ruthlessly."

"My brothers are naive to think that by wedding some droning girl from a werewolf clan the werewolves will back down. They fail to see that it has all become a mundane battle for territory and a wolf never backs down from his turf."  
Her eyes sinfully responded to the subtle hint. "This used to be a free land, to where our antecessors came searching for a safe haven where all creatures would live together in peace but The Immaculatus have tainted that view by proclaiming that this land cannot harbor everyone."

"They are trying to use me to serve their cause, if I choose the vampires I will offend the werewolves but if I choose to follow my werewolf side I will be turning my back on all the vampires that fight next to me with bravery and loyalty."  
Her cheek became sizzling under his touch and he could listen to all of her blood fighting to reach her racing heart on time.

"I'm afraid I have allowed my loose tongue to have its way the other night. I have given voice to all the vile comments that go around about the King but I have failed to see the man behind it all. I see it now that behind the crimson red that drips from your hands stands a man who very few truly know."  
"Oh Caroline… why have you settled inside my heart like this?"

"Like what?" she murmured.  
His fingers reached her chin softly. "Like a thorn that I cannot pull out."

Her eyes were just like two wonderful mirrors of expectation as he leaned over, she closed them unable to keep breathing properly as he was about to deliver her first kiss.  
Klaus trapped her upper lip between his soft and full lips and he brushed her lower lip as he pulled away from her.

"I cannot stop thinking about you Caroline..." he whispered moving his hand to her neck.  
As all that hair of hers covered his hand she smiled touching her lips that were taken by a sweet tingle.

"I need to see you again, meet me here tomorrow." he asked her hopeful that she would say yes.  
And she did, Caroline nodded and for the following 8 weeks they met every day by the waterfall.

They spoke of everything that he didn't tell anyone and he asked all the questions he could think of regarding her.  
For 8 weeks they became closer and very few secrets were kept in the dark between them and slowly Caroline discovered that there was something else she wanted in life as powerfully as she wanted to be a vampire.

She wanted to be his but Elena kept her informed about the troubling gossip in the castle, Klaus was being pinned against the wall to accept the werewolf girl and as the summer ended so did Caroline's hopes.  
Although the days spent together at the waterfalls were idyllic and full of sweet tender kisses and heartfelt conversations she felt his joy slowly fade, she felt him troubled and increasingly gloomy so she could only assume he was building the courage to tell her about his inevitable wedding but the sad truth was that things at her home were far from being ideal either.

* * *

**Elena and Elijah Mikaelson's Wedding **

"I find these spats between the species quite tiresome; it's only keeping our beloved King away from us."

The dull voice said next to him but Klaus couldn't stop looking outside to the balcony, the striking blonde was wearing a dark red-wine number tonight and her long wavy golden locks were trapped in a vine-entwined loose braid.  
And she was laughing.

Klaus reached for his waist missing the sword that usually was there at his disposal, the itch in his hand only grew when the man making her laugh touched Caroline's shoulder.  
"Why are you… _growling_?" the woman next to him asked carefully not to upset him.

Klaus looked at her having forgotten how she was called already. "He's touching her." he simply said before heading for the balcony.  
As he came closer he could see the skin on Caroline's neck wrinkling, her body language was now telling him that she wasn't enjoying the man's company at all and that was confusing, he had to look further into this.

"Good evening." he said noticing how her body froze and the wrinkle in her neck was now bigger.  
She turned around to face a smug smile that left her uneasy; she gently buckled her knees and lowered her head a bit.

He was upset that she wouldn't speak to greet him because they had come further than this plus he should not be presented with another one of her _candidates_.  
The boy was probably her age and he had a very easy smile. In fact, everything about the boy seemed easy and the image of his hand touching Caroline enraged Klaus yet again.

"Beau Deville my Lord, at you service."  
Klaus sighed with the vast collection of strange names he was collecting in her behalf and decided to give the boy a few more minutes, he looked at Caroline with gleaming eyes happy to see her again. "It has been a week since we last saw each other." he was not accepting of the fact that she stopped going to the waterfalls.

She gulped down because he sounded sad. "My father is ill and I have been home taking care of him."  
Klaus neared her harshly. "Why haven't I been informed of this?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you informed about the illness of every single person in your Kingdom?"  
He made a guttural sound. "I should have been informed."

Caroline shook her head before indulging in a big sip of her champagne. "I asked Stefan to stop informing you about my life."  
He was not happy and when the boy with the odd name breathed an attempt to speak he grabbed his throat and pushed him off the balcony silencing him immediately.

Caroline was livid. "You need to stop doing that!"  
"He was bothering me." Klaus found her particularly dense tonight for expecting him to accept that she brought a suitor to the party after what happened between them during the summer.

She pressed her lips and turned her back on him, she rushed down the stairs ready to go home but he took hold of her arm.  
"Caroline, please wait."

She stopped surprised that he was actually using that word. "You need to stop killing every man who comes near me."  
"I will kill them all."

She should have been terrified of his resolve but she was shivering for other reasons. "I need to marry one them Niklaus."  
His hard features were so sweet after he heard his name on her lips. "That's nothing but nonsense love." he briefly smiled but then he spotted the dancing tears in her eyes.

"My father is dying and it is his last wish that I get married, if not he has left all of our fortune to the Church and I will be forced to go into the Monastery with my mother."  
"I will burn it down and bring you home with me."

Caroline smiled softening and caressing his cheek. "My mother would die of shame if I became one of the King's women." she looked down hating that the thought was somewhat bearable if that meant being close to him and the receiver of his attention occasionally.  
His body came closer and she frowned looking up, there was a small gasp because his intense blue eyes were closely upon her.

"I have sent them all away." he softly said eager to kiss her again. "There is only one on my mind now, constantly and irrevocably making its way to my heart."  
"To how many women have you said those words? Have you not said them to me once or twice while stealing away kisses that I have given away too easily?"

"I have never meant them until tonight." he breathed out.  
"They change nothing my King, I will marry in secret if I have to and you are free to murder my husband after he takes me as his."

He roughly took her arms and brought her closer to him, she held her breath wary before he pressed her lips robbing her of air and balance because the kiss was long and somewhat harsh.  
"I will exterminate every single man in this kingdom and then I will move to the next kingdom until there are only women left in this world." he said when he broke away from her red lips.

"You are obsessed." she said in a low voice afraid to accuse how much his words meant to her.  
He kissed her slower this time and his tongue outlined her lips before he pulled away. "I am smitten by you and I would say I am in love if I knew what love is."

Caroline broke away from his hold and then ran away, she ran down the stairs and to the Coach as fast as she could.  
His words hammered inside of her head along with her racing heart, she was in love with him as well.

* * *

**The Autumn Royal Ball**

"Your father has recovered remarkably." Stefan told Caroline as they clapped after another dance ended.  
Caroline nodded with a big smile. "I was scared that he wouldn't survive the summer but the team of medics that you brought to the house did a miracle."

"You know who sent them, don't you?"  
She shook her loose hair. "I haven't spoken to him since the last Ball and I refuse to speak of him now."

"He on the other hand has done nothing but to speak of you all day and at night he forces me to drink with him so he can tell me how much he is _not _in love with you."  
Caroline focused on her white dress that she fixed to keep busy. "We still haven't danced Stefan."

"And we won't dance." he shook his head petrified.  
She sighed adorably. "But I want to dance…"

Stefan looked behind her shoulder to the man arriving. "I'll wait in line."  
She slowly looked behind losing her breath as it always happened around Klaus.

"White is your color sweetheart." he said showing how much he was taken by her look tonight.  
She smiled, she had no other choice. The white ivory dress was her favorite and her hair was simple tonight, there was nothing but a beautiful tiara in her blonde loose hair and he smiled recognizing his gift.

He touched his chest speechless and slightly shook his head. "I am out of words for how beautiful you are Caroline."  
She wasn't too taken by the comment because he looked odd, even sadder than those last weeks of their rebellious encounters. "Something happened…" she took a step closer to him.

"Grant me your company for a few minutes." he offered his arm that she took at once.  
As they came outside to the balcony she couldn't resist the joke. "Have you decided to throw me over a balcony and end this silly game we have between us?"

He chuckled but left her side so he could close the door and to give them some privacy which only left her apprehensive, adding to how she already felt.  
As he faced her he tried to smile but she neared him taking his hands into hers.

"What's wrong Niklaus? They are forcing you to marry that girl aren't they?"  
He found it humorous and his smile was at least real this time. "I have beheaded her and ended the nagging plea of my brothers."

"Then what is it because I've sensed you change dreading the cause of it."  
"I am returning to the battlefield."

She clasped her lips and fought the sting in her eyes announcing tears. "Why?"  
"I have been away for far too long and soldiers need motivation, if their leader is not there bleeding along with them they start to wonder why they should be fighting a war at all. They begin to drift away and the horrible reality back at home doesn't sound as bad as the one they are living every day… they need me there to lead them and to show them how we will win this war and why we must succeed at it."

"I don't want you to go." she said slowly.  
"For the first time since I came to sit on that throne I don't wish to be on a battlefield surrounded by death and blood."

"Then stay here with us." she pleaded him sweetly.  
"I will only be away for a few months love, just enough to lull a few restless hearts." As a true leader it came easy for him to sooth the masses but he had no proper reaction for the two big tears menacing to fall from her eyes.

"What about my heart? Who will calm my heart while I wait for news, worried about your safety?"  
He caught the first tears anyone ever shed for him with his thumb. "I am immortal love… I cannot be killed."

His hand was resting over her cheek now and she placed her hand over his. "But you are capable of feeling pain and you can be wounded… and I will still worry about your safety every day."  
"I will leave tomorrow and I will be back as soon as the first snow covers this land."

She began to shake her head. "No, there's not enough time Niklaus." she clutched his hand like her own safety depended on it.  
He was so taken by her genuine reaction that he pulled her closer kissing her forehead.

"I grew so accustomed to our small spats, the long talks away from the public eyes and the furtive kisses…"  
The very things he found himself addicted to and slowly Klaus leaned over to capture all that softness in her lips, he took his time inviting her lips to move against his and when they did it felt perfect.

As it was the rest of their first night together.

If there really was a heaven, Klaus only knew it existed when her warm soft hands moved under his shirt silently begging him to do that again, after that first sting of pain her body responded to the new exciting feeling.  
It felt natural to have him going deeper inside of her, but more than that, it felt meant to be the way she slowly wrapped herself around him; her nails buried in his back as the small whimpers became louder and she held him closer to her.

He kissed her but she barely responded to the kiss, she was overtaken by many feelings that she wasn't able to understand just yet.  
Her hands moved under his shirt gripping his shoulders and there was a small cry as his steady but slow moves touched a place she had no idea existed inside of her, it caused her such bliss when his body melted against hers faster with each thrust that filled her completely.

There was a wave she couldn't stop erupting from where their bodies were joined and it left her trembling, his white shirt was tainted with the blood her nails took away from his flesh and this time she answered his long kiss wanting him to stay with her.  
The rest of their night was spent kissing next to the fire over those wolf skins and when dawn came she helped him get dressed.

Caroline touched the Royal symbol on his armor fighting a set of fresh tears for the nearing goodbye but Klaus assured her he would be back and that this was only the first night of an eternity he would grant her by turning her into a vampire.  
And so he did, before going away to war Klaus granted Caroline her biggest wish, he gave her eternal life with his blood and she became a Pure Breed.

* * *

**The Winter Royal Ball**

"Please try to smile a little…" Elena asked her sweetly.  
Caroline indulged her friend with a small smile. "Your husband is not very happy that you are here keeping me company… he doesn't like the new vampire very much."

Elena shook her head without looking at Elijah. "If it was for Elijah I would never part his side for anything."  
"Isn't that true love? To want to be with no one else but the one you love?"

Elena took Caroline's hand with a warm smile. "Elijah told me that they left yesterday so they should arrive tomorrow."  
"I hardly expect the King to remember me…" Caroline said with conviction.

Their night had meant the world for her but as months went by without any news from him, his goodbye gift seemed to be a clear warning to Caroline that he had what he wanted from her and in exchange gave her what she craved for.  
It was almost shocking how becoming a vampire now meant so little to her compared to the powerful memory of making love to him.

There was a jarring sound that made everyone look at the doors, Caroline expected the strong winter wind to be causing a small havoc but she froze as the tall man wearing a cloak came inside pushing the double doors with strength.  
Everyone bowed to him recognizing him but Caroline was left with no reaction as he pulled the hood down walking straight towards her.

She held back her breath as he determinedly came to her and took her face kissing her at once.  
It was a long, passionate kiss that had her weak to his powerful touch and tongue.

He broke the kiss to rest his forehead against hers while she happily kissed his cheek. "I have counted every second I was away from you."  
She reacted to the whisper with a smile and searched for his lips eager to have him kiss her like that again; he was not coy and kissed her once more.

"Brother, it's good to have you back." Elijah spoke next to the couple.  
Klaus looked at him with a big smile. "Big brother." he took Elijah's arm strongly.

Elijah was affectionate returning the greeting but Klaus knew him well.  
Slowly Klaus glanced around the room buried in silence, most of the people present were eyeing him with judging accusing eyes while some simply looked confused, there was a murmur he couldn't fully comprehend.

"Perhaps you should leave the displays of… affection away from the public." Elijah warned him with a quiet whisper.  
Klaus pulled away from Caroline and looked at the crowd uncertain of how to accept the King so boldly showing off his friendliness to a vampire girl who many assumed to be a regular in his bed, like every good court they judged her without a care and disliked her without a true valid reason.

"This is a Ball so why is everyone suddenly so quiet?" he asked the crowd without an answer.  
Slowly they all started clapping, as fake in their smiles as they were in their cheers and Klaus raised his hand asking them to stop.  
Now everyone was really puzzled.

"I appreciate the happy welcoming but we are to celebrate something else entirely tonight. Tonight we do not celebrate my return or the way I have ensured that each and every one of you were able to sleep peacefully during the full moon without being attacked by the werewolves." he turned to Caroline and offered his hand to her.  
She took it shaking and puzzled like the others but Elijah could see the entire tale being written in front of him.

"We celebrate the arrival of winter like it is tradition in our family, we celebrate the change of seasons and the blessing of having our loved ones close." Elijah said pulling a wave of heavy clapping along with a lot of smiles.  
"I am not done talking Elijah." Klaus' voice silenced everyone and threw his older brother into his place.

Elijah lowered his head apologetically while Klaus faced the crowd again.  
"Tonight we celebrate my chosen bridal, my future wife and Queen of this kingdom, Caroline Forbes." he said proud of his choice.

There was a loud joined gasp and a big commotion while Elijah simply closed his eyes.  
If Caroline wasn't a vampire, she would have fainted, dropped lifeless to the ground but still her breath was shaky.

One by one the crowd swallowed the appalled expressions and even the preposterous insults and bowed down to the new Queen.  
She stood with him while the entire room pledge allegiance to her and Klaus.

* * *

**Soundtrack: **

All I need – _Within Temptation_

In my Veins - _Andrew Belle_

Devotion - _Hurts_

Wonder - _Jack Savoretti_

Buckets of rain – _Bob Dylan_


	5. All's fair

Caroline kissed him without stopping her movements, she could feel their sweet end nearing and her entire body ached for it.  
Klaus kissed her cheek before slowly moving his lips to her neck kissing the two tiny marks his fangs left on her skin just minutes before, the motion made Caroline moan against his ear.

She laced her hands around his neck adding a little speed to her steady pace as they made love, in contradiction he touched her slowly, he trailed her shoulders with his warm palms and then his fingertips outlined her spine making her skin wrinkle.  
Caroline dropped her head a bit back as his hands reached her waist moving down and gripping her hips pulling her strongly to him, burying himself deeper inside of her.

It pulled an extraordinary loud sound from her because of the way it really stoked a wave of pleasure, he was sitting on the edge of the bed and she was straddling him and with every move she made now she felt him deeper, Klaus groaned against her chest while his hands gripped her hips harder and harder just like her moves to take him in.

She stroked the back of his neck pulling herself closer to him, resting her forehead against his; he kissed her roughly and then he granted her freedom to ride him as she pleased by taking his hands away from her hips and lacing them around her keeping her locked in his warmth until she was left undone and overtaken by all of these amazing waves of bliss.

Caroline smiled tired; he was the love of her life, the one who would love her more than anyone else and she couldn't even imagine being in the arms of any other man but him.

* * *

Rebekah grabbed her things quietly, she didn't want to wake him so she was dead quiet knowing that the boots would have to be carried in her hands for now.  
She pushed the top over her head and headed for the door but didn't go far as the deep voice echoed inside of the dark room.

"Was it _that_ bad?"  
She faced Matt aghast.

He smiled sweetly. "Because you are running away."  
Rebekah tugged a long blonde lock behind her ear and dropped the boots on the floor, she flashed pinning him against the mattress before he melted her further with his blue puppy eyes. "I have to go, my brother is throwing some important dinner."

Matt kissed her while losing his fingers among her wonderful hair. "I thought you didn't like big parties…"  
"And I don't, I used to hide in my chambers whenever we had the big royal parties and I still don't like the big gatherings but I like having Nik back and I need to keep everyone distracted with my good deeds so that they don't suspect us."

"I was so nervous when I met the king… Alaric thought I was nervous because of the reputation your brother Klaus has but I was actually trying to find a way to tell him that I'm in love with his sister and that she makes me happy."  
Rebekah wavered under his touch on her cheek. "That would have been foolish and I could have lost you. I need to find a way to tell my brother Nik that we are together but I need to protect you from Nik in case he loses it."

"I should be the one telling him." Matt grumbled with a damaged ego.  
It made her smile and run a fingernail across his hard features. "I need to go so kiss me again."

"I don't want you to go, I want to make love to you again."  
Rebekah hated him for being so sweet and innocent and for having the most candid smile. "I can't Matt… I still have to do Henrik a favor before dinner."

"Will you be back by dawn?"  
"We shouldn't risk it Matt… I don't trust that Sage and Finn aren't hiding in the shadows keeping track of everyone's steps and I don't want Nik to know about us by Sage's snake tongue."

"This is not going very well for me." Matt grimaced.  
Rebekah smiled kissing his jaw line, her lips warmed his skin until they found his ear. "I will make it up to you the next time we see each other." she whispered before teasing him with her tongue on his ear and her hand between them stroking him.

Matt's guttural response made her happy and she caressed him a little longer before kissing him deep but before he managed to attempt removing her clothes she was standing next to the bed and grabbing her boots.  
Matt's breath was unsteady and he glared at her for leaving him so… ready.

Rebekah giggled as a response and threw him a kiss before opening the door.  
"That was so incredibly mean Rebekah." he stared at the ceiling anticipating a very cold shower.

"Think of me…" she lazily said. "While I'm gone."  
Matt didn't bother looking at the door, he knew she had the biggest smile taunting him.

* * *

Caroline was brushing her wavy hair when he came inside the bedroom already looking too dashing for her taste, she turned to Klaus running her fingers along the buttons of his dark classic shirt. "I like it."  
Her opinion mattered the most to him so he was happy that she approved his choice but he was again speechless with hers.

Klaus took her hand and she gave a little spin for him; the dress was long, flowing and covered her feet, it was deep red but the V-cleavage was in black satin lines matching the one around her tiny waist.  
"Why do you torment me so?" he grumbled answering a soft kiss take came from her.

She motioned her shoulders together adorably. "Because someone needs to do it."  
"A valid reason, as good as any other I suppose." he said picking up the silver necklace around her neck and pulling the medallion buried in her cleavage.

Caroline followed the path his thumb made over the Royal symbol engraved in it, it was the necklace he gave her on their wedding night and the one she clutched every day of her imprisonment for strength while waiting for him.  
As a clear sign of their undeniable link he seemed to read her mind. "I had no awareness while desiccated but they've kept yours…"

She softly wrapped her hand around his. "I grew used to the pain Niklaus because pain is only that, a sting to the flesh but my days were filled with agony unaware of your fate. That was the hardest to endure, not knowing what they had done to you was far worse than the lack of blood and the constant poison with vervain."  
"It would have driven me to insanity." he admitted to her.

"Their win was swift and clean, we shall grant them that but the spoils of war shall be ours my lord because we will be striking them where it hurts the most."  
He framed her neck between his hands, ever so sure of his choice of the one he wanted by his side. "I love a good fox that squeals with ruined pride."

"You gave me your heart along with your kingdom and I always did cherish all of your gifts." Caroline pulled away from him so she could finish getting ready.  
Their eyes met as she faced the mirror and they shared a smile before he powerfully left the room ready for stage one of their plan.

Caroline carried on brushing her hair, tonight she was putting aside her compassion and morals, she was paying them all in the same coin, showing them the same lack of benevolence they showed her by ruthlessly locking her inside of a coffin.

* * *

Bonnie smiled at another man as they crossed paths in the hall, she still had no idea how many people worked in the castle but she knew her way around the big place by now.  
She happily pushed one of the heavy doors of the library open and bounced towards the endless rows of books, the monastery had many books but they were all boring and dreadful unlike the massive collection the Mikaelsons had and she twiddled her fingers trying to choose between the romantic novel or the scary tale of a hunter of souls.

"Uh… hard one…" she murmured reaching for the romantic novel after a short deliberation.  
Just as she was about to take it out Kol came inside the library, he stopped as soon as he saw her and Bonnie straightened herself retrieving her hand away from the precious books.  
"I'll leave." she said quickly before he sent her away.

"There's no need…" he picked up a book from a pile on the table and took it with him.  
Bonnie watched him leave as quickly as he came inside and like always avoiding looking straight at her, once she was alone again she took the horror novel instead, she lost a little of her enthusiasm but her curiosity triggered.

She glanced over to the table from where Kol took his book but she was scared that he might come back so she opened her book and started reading from it.  
The prologue was interesting but she was stuck rereading the same line a few times because her eyes kept drifting to the table, after a few other glances she finally gave in and walked there.

Like she was being watched Bonnie looked around a bit and touched her hair before _casually_ stopping by the table, once there she realized most books were written in foreign languages that she didn't know but as she moved a finger pushing the ones on top she sure recognized the language on the ones in the bottom.  
They were all in Latin and Bonnie threw away discretion as she dropped her book on the table grabbing one from the pile, the hell with romantic novels and dark fairy tales about snatching souls; they had the entire compilation of everything ever written about the origins of witchcraft.

Every known testimony and tale about the first signs of witchcraft, the very beginning of her kind was all over these pages, she eagerly went through the images and small spells that made her smile.  
Father Russell had spoken about the lost Books of Magic, the only evidence that once witches had been so much more than mere slaves to the fat and contemptible priests from The Immaculatus.

It was not human the sound she made when she found a chapter dedicated to Magic family lines and she ran her finger across the list hoping to find her family name.  
"Are you reading something naughty?" Rebekah asked suspicious as she came inside the library.

Bonnie jumped scared and turned so fast she knocked a few books to the ground. "No, I'm just…" she startled and picked the books, showing one to Rebekah. "I mean, it's a book about souls…" she closed her eyes for a second then smiled. "I find it fun to read."  
Rebekah laughed finding the girl peculiar. "I'm Bekah, I don't think we have been introduced."

"I'm Bonnie." she answered with a smile and started fixing the table back to how it was before.  
"There is a dinner tonight, are you attending it?"

Bonnie looked at the blonde. "I was invited but I rather stay in my room reading."  
"Sounds like the perfect evening for me but I promised Nik I would be there." Rebekah had a pair of earrings in her hands that she was playing with while looking at Bonnie. "I think Henrik will be very sad that you are not going to be there."

Bonnie looked a bit lost. "Why?"  
"I think he likes you very much…"

"I like him too, he is my only friend." she said with honesty.  
Rebekah sighed attaching the expensive earrings to her ears. "He is such a lovely brother, he is intelligent and caring…"

Bonnie wasn't sure where this was going and pressed her lips together, she found the way Rebekah was looking at her strange so this was a great timing to exit. "He has been a great friend to me and truly everyone has been so nice by allowing me to stay here. Of course with the exception of Kol who treats me like I have the plague."  
There was another big sigh from Rebekah. "It's better for you to stay away from Kol's view, he is very unstable and his mood only became worse after what happened to Beth."

"Is she the one in the private cemetery? I saw him leaving flowers there." Bonnie asked hoping she wouldn't come across too prying.  
"Yes…" Rebekah fixed the long pearl-necklace that she was wearing.

"Was she a witch?" Bonnie ventured.  
The question surprised Rebekah that took a few seconds to answer. "She was… before Kol turned her. But she was still 17 at the time and as you may know, it's considered a crime so to prove that we were no longer above the law The Immaculatus came for her and made of her an example. They killed her and like the good lambs that we all became, we all turned blind to it."

"He must have suffered so much… I think that he still does." she whispered. "He must have felt so alone in his struggle to save her..." Bonnie's candid tongue was faster than her brain.  
"I would watch that tone if I were you…" Rebekah warned her coldly.

"I think that I'm keeping you away from your dinner so I better go." Bonnie took the book she showed Rebekah but sneaked the one she really wanted under it, conspicuously leaving with both.

* * *

"Why am I being invited to a family dinner?" Stefan asked as he was leaving the red car he just parked in the big driveway.  
Klaus beamed with deep dimples. "I like that." he pointed at the car.

"It's a classic." Stefan said amused.  
"You are going to let me drive it tomorrow." Klaus said walking around the car for a better view of it.

"Umm…" Stefan hesitated. "You can't drive…"  
Klaus lifted one eyebrow upset.

"Yet." Stefan smiled easing his words because Klaus hated being told he couldn't do something.  
Klaus went back to admiring the beauty in red as a blonde arrived in another piece of art, it only had two wheels and Klaus knew they were called motorcycles.

"Hey Stef." The blonde cheerfully said tugging her long braid.  
"Lexi, I thought that you were taking the night off."

"And I am but we are all gathering in that little Pub in town and we were wondering if you would like to join us there later…" she warmly smiled at him.  
He eased up but he didn't look too excited as he shoved his hands inside the pockets of his jacket. "Maybe I'll show up."

Lexi's smile faded a little. "Ok… well, we will be there all night so I'll save you a glass of Bourbon?"  
"Stay out of trouble and tell Theo that he is slacking, I could see him keeping watch as I raced up the driveway."

Lexi lost the smile altogether. "Of course my General." she started her black powerful bike and nodded at Klaus. "Your majesty."  
Klaus returned the bow with a smile and turned to Stefan with a funny expression.

"What?" the other asked him.  
Klaus left Stefan's car and stopped next to him watching the beautiful blonde race away. "Lexi has grown up quite the bit."

"What are you talking about? She's a vampire, she's the same as she was 500 years ago."  
Klaus leaned his head to the side. "Really Stefan?"

"Her clothes changed and she's not so girly but she's still the same." Stefan said uneasily as Klaus laced his arm around his shoulders.  
"The way she looks at you also changed my friend."

Stefan laughed finding the idea absurd. "Being dead for so long has messed with your mind."  
As they reached the top of the stairs Klaus moved his hand over the balcony. "Do you know how many of Caroline's suitors I pushed over this balcony?"

"I lost count…"  
Klaus touched his chest. "I as well at some point but I know consuming love when I see it and I assure you that Lexi is ready to kill every woman who looks in your direction."

Stefan closed his eyes rubbing his forehead. "You have really lost it."  
"She's very pretty and from what I remember she was an extraordinary warrior."

"She got even better with time but she's only a friend." Stefan quickly stated.  
"You need to move on from Elena." Klaus harshly said.

Stefan gave him a judging look before they went any further than the balcony. "I don't feel anything for her anymore."  
"I have no idea why you ever fell for her."

Stefan's mouth was quicker than his mind. "Probably the same reason Elijah married her."  
Klaus only allowed two people in the world to speak to him on the same level, luckily for Stefan he was one of them. "I always did find him quite thick for wanting to marry the maid."

"She's a sweet girl and generous…" Stefan wearily defended her, they had too many of these discussions by now and although he knew Elena was a changed woman now his human heart always betrayed him.  
"She's a weak girl who cries all the time and that used to fool around with you and Damon."

"I don't want to talk about my brother." Stefan simply said.  
"And I wish I could do that but… there are those special states of affairs tonight."

Stefan didn't like the implication one bit and he liked even less when the familiar voice reached the top of the stairs on his left.  
"Stefan… it's been a while brother." Damon said with a snarky smile.

* * *

Rebekah took the champagne glass from the small tray someone presented her with but she knew it wouldn't reach her lips as soon as she saw Henrik strutting towards her.  
She still tried to sip from it as Henrik took her arm and headed for the hall away from everyone.

"What did you find out?" he asked her on edge.  
"That I really like alcohol because I'm dying to drink this." she savored the champagne ignoring the scowl from her younger brother.

She only came back to him when she was half way through the glass. "All right… so I did what you asked and I talked to Bonnie, I even caught her off guard so it was really easy to read her."  
"Caroline is about to announce the mystery guest of this dinner so hurry up." he rushed her.

"Bonnie doesn't feel anything for you, she sees you as a friend." she went straight to the point.  
Henrik's features fell and he looked down disappointed.

Rebekah touched his arm trying to sooth him and she stroke it slowly. "Don't be so discouraged, it's better this way anyway. She was all judgy when I told her about Beth; she failed to see the obvious, we all had someone or something to protect so we couldn't really risk it by helping Kol save his girl." she drifted away from her comforting moment. "Well, I didn't have anyone at the time but if it was today I would do the same Elijah and Finn did."

"Why were you talking about Beth?" Henrik went back to the detail he was stuck at.  
Rebekah smiled before ending her glass. "Possibly it's time to send your friend the witch away… we can't keep her in here forever."

Henrik didn't answer her as Rebekah went back to the others.  
But he also missed Kol hiding in a corner and listening to everything.

As Kol prepared to leave to his chambers he bumped into Caroline waiting for him in the hall.  
She smiled at him easily. "Dinner is that way."

"I'm not hungry." he tried to go around her but she swiftly cut him off.  
"Grumpy Kol… that's something I never thought I would see."

"Vengeful Caroline, that was a shock." he threw at her with a snarky tone.  
She placed her hands on her waist. "You try being locked inside of a coffin for 5 centuries listening to horrible things and imagining even worst things being done to the love of your life feeling absolutely powerless and try to come out smiling and all sweet and forgiving." she snapped.

Kol's hard features really took a turn and he smiled at her. "I'm not judging you, I think for someone fully aware of what was happening you are actually quite composed and calm."  
She smiled pointing at his mouth. "I see a smile Kol, I've been waiting for one of those for days now."

He shook his head looking down from her, there was nothing worth smiling so he slowly gave up on that.  
She quieted her smile as well. "Kol… if I was around I would have fought for Beth."

"I thought turning her after what happened to you and Nik was the safest but I ended up killing her instead."  
"We will honor her death by making them all pay for what they did to us."

"Count me in, no matter the consequences." he said with conviction and demanding to be a part of their plan.  
"Good." Caroline grinned and took his arm. "Let's start with dinner, I can't seem to find my husband and the Queen cannot enter the room without a dashing company by her side."

"Mischievous Caroline… you haven't changed _that _much." he mused.  
She laughed stealing the attention as they walked inside the room, she took the champagne Kol handed her and waited for Klaus that was roguish as he smiled at her.

Right behind him came Stefan followed by Damon that naturally smiled at everyone.  
"What's he doing here?" Finn asked incredulous.

Klaus took a glass Caroline handed him. "I have asked Damon Salvatore to join the Council, he will be in charge of the werewolves."  
The gasp came loud and in unison, the only one happy about it was Damon that took his champagne with a smirk and Klaus that took extra delight watching Elena and Sage's reaction.

"You are both free to faint if you wish." he sauntered a joke easily.  
"You should be the one representing the werewolves." Elijah said assertive.

"As the king I have to be impartial Elijah." Klaus pretended an appalled fit with disdain. "Plus Damon has been leading a small unit of rebellious werewolves, it appears there are those who aren't pleased serving The Immaculatus after all."  
"Rebellious unit? He runs a team of mercenaries, they serve those who pay higher." Sage hissed.

"Well my dear, you would know a thing or two about that wouldn't you?" Klaus addressed her with a cruel smile.  
She opened her mouth shocked, then she swallowed her damaged pride. "I'm not feeling well, you will have to excuse me from dinner." she left the room fast but looked at Damon as she passed him.

Finn gritted his teeth following his wife quickly.  
Elijah had his eyes on Elena as well that couldn't stop staring at Damon in disbelief and when this one winked her she crumbled into tears running out of the room.

Klaus widened his eyes irritated with the frail girl but he exchanged a serious look with Elijah as his brother left the small group, tomorrow they would have a lot to discuss.  
"I think I'm taking Lexi upon that invitation after all." Stefan left the room troubled.

"There will be only us for dinner then?" Damon asked nonchalantly.  
Rebekah grabbed another glass of champagne reading everyone in the room.

Caroline and Klaus toasted unaffected by the drama they just caused and Kol was looking at a miserable Henrik across the room.  
Damon was flirting with her but she kept her eyes on her family, she could feel the change approaching quietly like a rising storm.

This wasn't even the quiet before the storm, this was an omen.

* * *

Sage paced around in her room concerned, having Damon around was dangerous and a set back to their plans, she looked up as Finn came inside looking as troubled as she was but perhaps she was too fast judging him and mistaken it with concern when in reality he was furious.  
Without flinching he slapped her across the face.

Sage faced him horrified. "Have you lost your judgment?"  
"You asked Niklaus to give Damon this place so that you two could be closer didn't you?" Finn asked her angrily.

"Of course I didn't. I had no idea Niklaus would ask Damon to come here, him of all people." Sage touched her open lip shaking.  
But Finn was out of his good ruling and harshly grabbed her by the arms. "How did you know that Damon was leading a mercenary team? Have you been seeing him again Sage?"

"I haven't seen Damon since the day you caught us both in bed." she said in a low voice.  
"I should have killed you both then." Finn pushed her away turning to the vanity table in their room, he tossed everything there to the ground.

Sage licked her sore lip. "We can still work our way around this Finn."  
He snarled baring his fangs. "Do not talk. I'm fighting the image of you under Damon lodged inside my brain right this instant."

She still defied him. "We have bigger problems Finn, if Klaus chose a rebel vampire to look after the interests of the werewolves everything will be in jeopardy because it will make the clans furious and if they feel insulted enough they will send their own candidates, do you know what that means?"  
"That my brother will trade their support for someone of their choice." Finn kicked the vanity table knocking it to the ground before leaving the bedroom.

Sage closed her eyes in search for a way out of this, she knew that Finn would not cope with having Damon around; he barely forgave her betrayal at the time and she needed him to focus right now, it was imperative to send Damon away somehow.  
Obviously Klaus was winning effortlessly by now and she couldn't allow that either, she went to her closet and grabbed the long dark cloak covering herself, she also took the small box she kept in the bottom row of the closet and retrieved the ring she kept inside.

* * *

"Thank you for the lovely dinner." Damon took Caroline's hand kissing it, he also shamelessly casted a look to her wonderful cleavage. "Nice Fleur-des-lis..."  
She scolded him aware that Klaus was about to tackle him to the floor and decapitate him, it shouldn't surprise her that Damon hadn't changed a bit and she eventually smiled. "Go away before my husband kills you."

Damon chuckled. "I happen to be excited about the new job so I will do as you please, your highness." he teased her before getting inside of his car.  
"He is vital to the plan…" Klaus said like he was reminding himself of why Damon was walking away with a liver.

Caroline smiled at Kol that quietly left their side, she cupped Klaus' grumpy face once alone with him. "Damon's temper and his scandalous liaisons with half the women in this kingdom make him the perfect weapon to wheel in our favor."  
"I'll try to keep that in mind." Klaus kissed her just as Kol arrived in another one of those nice cars, he really had to get one of those for him and Caroline.

"Be careful." she asked him always unable to disguise her apprehension for his safety.  
He kissed her longer and stroked her cheek silently assuring her he would be back soon.

* * *

Damon slowly stopped his car because Elena was waiting for him on the side of the main road, truth be told that he expected Sage to be the one waiting for him as soon as he left the castle not the girl getting inside of his car before anyone saw her.  
"What are you doing here Damon? Why have you returned?" her voice was still affected by all the tears she shed earlier.

"I've been meaning to return home for so long now Elena, I just needed a Royal seal for it."  
"You mean that you needed someone to stop Finn from killing you." she shot in her adorable anger.

"He's a teddy bear that shakes every time someone raises their voice."  
Damon's smirk was obnoxious and she looked away from him.

"Are you still jealous that I had a fling with Sage?"  
She faced him even angrier. "Two creatures so alike deserve each other."

"By Elijah's reaction I assume you haven't told him of that little slip you had last time we met by the waterfalls…"  
Elena caught her breath. "No one can know, it was a moment of weakness and I swore to never be unfaithful again to my husband, I haven't looked at another man since. This stays between us." she said her last words determined and left his car.

Damon flashed out of his seat and went around the car stopping in front of her, for the longest minute there was no reaction or word spoken between them but then he cupped her cheek harshly and sneaking his hand inside the long coat, he ran his hand through her body while pressing her to him. "But you did look at me that day, you kept your eyes on me while I did all those things to you and you begged me for more."

Elena clasped her lips pushing him away, Damon staggered but recovered quickly.  
He flashed pinning her against the car. "It's not the same with submissive Elijah is it? I bet he takes it real slow with you because he is afraid of hurting his little princess."

"You are disgusting Damon." she said between clenched teeth.  
"I am what you want me to be. I'm not fooled by the sweet innocent Elena because I know you. You had your fun with Stefan and then you came to me eager to try the wild side of life and then when you were unable to decide between the two of us, you chose Elijah."

"Please go away… don't take this place at the Council that Klaus is offering you, you can't be here." she begged him.  
"I want to be here but…" he felt all of her curves leaving her wanting for more, then he pulled himself away from her. "I don't want you anymore."

Elena gulped down, she stared at him for a while but his face was cold and closed for her and she started crying again before he went around to his side and got inside the car driving away with a loud sound.  
She did her best to tame the tears but this was a nightmare, there had to be a way to stay away from Damon and his quick mouth, he could ruin everything by sharing their secret and Elena feared now to lose Elijah more than ever.

She started walking back to the castle, she would take the shortcut through the woods; hopefully Elijah hadn't tried to talk to her again, she had asked him to be alone and like always Elijah complied.  
Just as Elena was about to leave the main road Sage came from the path in the woods where she was headed.

"Sage… are you taking advantage of the warm night for a little walk as well?" Elena forced a smile.  
"Was that Damon you were talking to just now?" Sage remained in the dark path.

"Sage… I have a secret that I haven't trusted anyone with…" Elena whispered.  
"We are like sisters." Sage easily threw in the right bait.

"The last time Damon was here we met in the waterfalls and we started talking about the days when we were still human and the nights we spent in secret..." Elena's voice dropped. "... before I knew what was happening we were making love and I know it's with shame that I have carried my mistake but it was only mine to keep and I promised myself it would never happen again but now Damon is back and I'm so scared he might tell Elijah just to cause havoc."

"That could be a problem." Sage's clear eyes sparkled with malice.  
"I don't know what to do." Elena cried helplessly.

Sage opened her arms in that motherly way and invited a helpless Elena into her embrace, Elena easily took the invitation eager for guidance.  
Sage stroke Elena's long straight hair tenderly. "Don't worry Elena… it's a secret that will die with you." she whispered pulling a stake from under her cloak and burying it in Elena's back.

Elena wheezed out of breath and then crumbled to her knees, Sage pulled the stake out and stroked Elena's face before clasping the stake with both hands and shoving it into her heart for the final blow.  
"You were always the weaker link Elena, at least now you will be helpful." she took a ring placing it inside of Elena's hand, she closed the dying girl's hand around it and stayed with her until she was grey and beyond salvation.

* * *

"Let's play darts." the idea came to Lexi like a bullet and she looked at Stefan expectantly.  
"Only if I have Damon's head to aim at."Stefan responded keeping his eyes on the drink in front of him.

Lexi crumbled her shoulders. "You are ruining the mood Stef."  
"I'm sitting here having a drink, you are the one trying to ruin my mood."

Lexi spun on her stool. "Do you want me to start a bar brawl? Maybe if you throw a few punches you would feel... better…"  
The way she stalled her last words made Stefan frown and look at her, she nodded towards the door.

The blue-eyed vampire that just came in eyed her with a strange puzzled look. "Lexi? Is that really you?" Damon asked suspicious.  
She waved one hand without speaking.

"Damn… you look hot." he threw his charm at her but she rolled her eyes at him.  
"I'll be over there waiting for your cue to start the brawl." she smiled sweetly at Stefan and grabbed her short leather jacket walking away and ignoring Damon.

"Please tell me that she is spanking you every night." Damon sat on her stool watching her fine ass swing away from him.  
Stefan ended his drink and dropped the glass hard on the counter.

"Or the other way around." Damon beamed at Stefan.  
His brother simply stood up ready to leave.

"This is not going to work because I will be staying for a very long time this turn around and we will be living in the same house, there needs to be communication or this relationship will never work."  
Stefan left the money on the counter before looking at Damon.

"Let me tell you about my brother Damon, he enlisted in the war but fled because he is a coward and when I went to war he stayed here trying to sleep with every girl he could. I returned home to find out he had ruined the life of hundreds of girls and drank all the alcohol we had in the house. We fought, I punched him and he left to prove how he could be a brave and useful man. He returns home whenever some married man is after him or when he is out of money and now he runs a pack of criminals that for God knows what reason follows him blindly." Stefan smiled hugely at Damon. "In short, he is a dick and I hate him."

"I on the other hand am crazy about you." Damon pursed his lips faking a kiss.  
"Where is your family ring Damon?"

Damon huffed upset. "Long story short, the booze was too strong, the girl too mysterious and I woke up naked on an empty bed and without my ring."  
"Can you please tell everyone that we are not related?" Stefan left the counter without waiting for an answer.

Damon sighed deeply and turned to the bartender. "Can you please give me some strong Scotch? I'm Stefan's brother by the way." he smiled at the pretty girl.

* * *

Klaus skimmed his way through the halls reaching his room without being seen which was good because he was entirely smeared with blood.  
Caroline heard him and came out of the bathroom where she had the water running already, there were no words between them and he only nodded, she did as well quietly allowing the big event to settle inside of her.

Klaus pulled his shirt out of the pants and opened the buttons on his wrists as she approached him, of course that she spotted the small cut on his face and touched it worried.  
He gently took her hand wanting to push the worried lines away from her face. "It's nothing love."

But her eyes drifted to his chest and the ruined shirt, because Caroline was barefoot and the dress was entangling in her feet she took hold of it, she kept her hand in his pulling him to the bathroom with her.  
Once inside she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it down his big shoulders, she unzipped her dress and pushed it down her body, while he got rid of the rest of his clothes she lost her underwear and then they both stepped inside the running shower.

Klaus moved the hair away from her face keeping his hands there warming her face, his thumbs soothed that tiny wrinkle still in her forehead as she found the inevitable.  
He had a big cut from a claw on his chest that she trailed with soft fingers.

"They were a lively bunch, Damon had a good pack under his wing so Kol and I had fun… I suspect he had a bit more fun than me though, I sense many repressed feelings there." he joked in a low voice.  
Caroline melted against him silently, she laced her hands around him and kept them on his back as the water began to hit them equally.

"We left their heads inside of a single grave like The Immaculatus do during their executions so Damon will blame them for now…" he whispered holding her close to him, their plan was in motion.  
"Be more cautious next time, I don't like when you get hurt." she simply whispered with her head resting against his shoulder.

"All right sweetheart..." he answered with the same simplicity and kept her close for as long as she needed him to.  
They remained in silence as the water took away all the blood he shed today and all the one still to come.

* * *

**Soundtrack: **

Have you ever really loved a woman? - _Bryan Adams _

Sway - _The kooks_

Winter in me - _Skylar Grey_

Followed the waves - _Auf Der Maur_

Cold blooded - _The Pretty Reckless_


End file.
